


Harry Rogers-Stark

by Uscfbfan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Steve Rogers, BAMF Tony Stark, F/M, Gen, Grooming, Harry Potter is Tony Stark's kid, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark is Good With Kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2019-09-14 14:34:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16914690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uscfbfan/pseuds/Uscfbfan
Summary: Ficception based on NJCHRISPATRICK's Darkness of Birth.  Howard Stark has officially gone crazy and has hatched a scheme.  If he couldn't find Captain America, he would make his son give birth to the next Captain America.  Only Tony had no clue to what his dad was up to until it was too late, and now his only thought is to keep the innocent child safe, and away from Howard's schemes.Written with permission from NJCHRISPATRICK.  If you haven't read the original, head over to ff.net and give it a read.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Darkness of Birth Ficception:

Tony winced as the doctor finished stitching him up, glaring in immense hatred at the man across the room who was gazing at a small infant with adoration in his eyes. He was whispering something incoherently to the infant, but Tony couldn’t make it out. His genius brain was still in a fog, trying to clear from all the medications that had kept him in a docile, coma-like state, while the infant had gestated in him.

He winced as he felt another needle go into his arm, drawing out some blood, glaring at the doctor who held him down. He even growled a bit. 

“Oh, calm down Anthony,” Howard scolded. “You are going to wake Grant.”

Tony grimaced as he heard the name. Of course he would name the child after his long-lost friend and obsession. For years, Tony had wanted his father’s love, trying everything to gain it, from building a hover car then to graduating MIT while simultaneously studying at Salem Institute for Magic Users. 

He had always wondered if Howard had hated his gifts he had inherited from his mother, technology and magic didn’t always work together until Tony had figured out away around it; he had figured it out so he could spend time with his dad, but of course that never happened. Howard always figured out a way to stay away whether it was to do his CEO stuff or to look for the long lost Cap. Never did Howard make time for him. How in the hell would he do it for this new kid, Grant. Tony sure as hell didn’t want anything to do with him. 

“Why?” Tony rasped out. Month after month they had kept him drugged, kept him prisoner, and impregnated him. “Why me? And who is the other donor?”

Howard smiled at his son for the first time. “All these questions, I’ll do my best to answer your curious mind. Why? Because Tony, you have the advanced genetics that we needed. We tried artificial wombs with your genetic material along with the donor material. It never took, it always failed. I even tried.”

Howard lifted his shirt, showing a scar on his abdomen.

“It just wouldn’t take. I mean, I figured my genetic material with Steven Rogers would work, but . . . sometimes when you experiment, things just don’t go the way you plan. Then I remembered your mother having you tested a long time ago when we had you tested for the magical gene. You are what are called a magical carrier in you and your mother’s world.”

Tony sighed. He had walked away from the wizarding world. There were too many regulations and strange customs. He was never going to fit in there and had decided to embrace his no-mag heritage instead. His magic was still intact, however barely used, and his wand was always tucked away on his forearm, though his father removed it during the abduction. He would have to find it, and soon. There was no way he wanted to feel this vulnerable again.

He stared at his father as he continued.

“Tony, you have always been my greatest creation, a brilliant mind with talents beyond all beliefs, even if you squander them away and get drunk at every pass. You made it so easy to capture you . . . always getting high and getting drunk Hell, your behavior made your absence from MIT so much more believable,” Howard smiled at the infant in his arms, muttering inaudible things to the small baby.

“Your genetic material with Steven’s made for a perfect match. And with your magical carrier gene, made this little miracle possible. Grant probably surpassed you as the greatest creation. With some testing a little later on in life, we can probably take his genetic material and rework the super serum formula.”

Tony sighed. He watched as his father, no Howard, had walked out of the room with the infant in his arms. Tony had never wanted to be a father, and he felt a twinge of sympathy for the baby in Howard’s arms, for this kid would be nothing more than a tool as well. 

Tony shuddered, closing his eyes.

His father had violated him in the worse way. He may have been drugged, but he remembered his father “obtaining” the material. Even drugged up, his eidetic memory made it possible for him to remember almost everything. Damn if he didn’t already hate the man. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing away the memories and refusing to show weakness. He was Tony Stark for fuck’s sake. 

He moved gingerly, not wanting to pull any of the stitches he acquired along his side, from where they had pulled the infant out. There where lingering questions on what exactly Howard expected from Tony, what roles he had to play. He had only just turned nineteen, finishing his MBA and a couple of PhDs in engineering now. He was sure that he would have to catch up on the work, not that it would take him long. 

Howard had assured him he still was paying his tuition, and that he had filed for Tony to be on sabbatical for the semester due to “family reasons.” 

Tony scoffed. At least the man didn’t cut him off financially. Even though, Tony was sure, that he could build his own company from the ground up and surpass Stark Industries if he wanted too. 

Tony laid back, allowing the healing magic in his blood to take over. Magicals did have advanced healing abilities naturally, he did overall heal faster from hangovers and common household injuries than no-mags. 

Alright Tony, think, what is your next move.

He sure as hell didn’t want anything to do with the child, even though he was half genetically his. Chances were that he would fuck it up, even if he did want him. 

Two months later. 

Tony held little Grant close to him, trying to shush him so Howard wouldn’t walk into the room. He was getting ready for their trip, and Tony didn’t want Howard finding out what he was up to in his own home. 

Tony still had wanted nothing to do with the kid, but he also didn’t want Howard to win in his sick game, so he made plans and nurtured Grant better than his father did, mostly just to stick it to Howard. Grant instinctually reached for Tony whenever he they had been apart, something that bothered Howard to no end. But Tony knew that things wouldn’t last.

Howard had already started drawing Grant’s blood, testing him for abilities. A two month old.

Tony had to admit, the kid was cute, how could he not be, even though he was wailing at the top of his lungs. He had blue eyes, with flecks of green in them, however had inherited Tony’s dark hair. Maria had commented that Grant looked a lot like Tony had. She didn’t even question Howard when he said that Grant was Tony’s kid from some woman he had met in a bar and that Howard had paid off.

Thanks Mom. 

Howard had also handed most of the child rearing to Tony, which had bothered him, but at least Grant would not have Howard as his parental figure for much longer. No, Tony had plans to hide the child away. There was no way that Tony would allow another child be hurt by his father.

But tonight was the night. Howard had to fly somewhere and Maria was instant on going with on a mini shopping vacation for herself and her newly acquired grandchild.

Maria did spoil Grant, giving the child everything that Tony didn’t buy him. He wasn’t going to get attached.

He watched as his parents left the house, flipping his father the bird one last time, hearing his mother chastise him. If everything worked, Grant Steven Stark would be safely hidden where Howard would no longer have access to him, and Tony and Grant would be free. He looked at the small bruise on Grant’s arm feeling some sympathy for him. What did his dad do to his son now?

“Don’t worry buddy, I will take care of you,” Tony vowed.

He walked a quarter of the mile down the road, before getting into an old beater of a car, driving himself to the airport. He was able to procure a private jet without difficulties, money talked, and cash made things move even more. 

 

Tony landed safely at the small regional airport in the UK, making his way quickly with Grant through the country side. Tony hadn’t been back in the magical world in quite awhile, but had gotten directions from Lily. 

Tony and Lily had met when he had participated in some school event to promote international cooperation between schools. He had just really wanted to get away from his dad, and well, going to Scotland to live in a castle that no no-mag could find seemed like the most logical thing to do.

He made some great friends that year. 16 seemed so far away, even though it was only 3 years ago. James was literally his distant cousin through their mothers, and his friends were awesome. Lily was prim and proper on the outside, but had a quick wit and a sharp mind.

He knew he was getting close because the GPS in his car started blinking in and out. He also knew he was doing the right thing.

He pulled up to a small cottage, pulling the small infant into his arms. There was a kissing gate and a stone path cutting its way through a beautifully manicured lawn. Lilies were lining the walk way up, which was of course, his best friend’s favorite flower. The cottage was stone with maroon shutters and a matching maroon door. On the door, a griffin knocker was in place. 

“How very Gryffindor,” Tony muttered. “Not that it matters at all Grant, you will be raised by these lovely people and will be in that house.”

Tony held his breath, closing his eyes. Leaving Grant with Lily and James would be the best choice. They weren’t on the grid, or in any electronic system. There was no way that Howard could get his hands on Grant to continue to test on him. 

He knocked on the door, hearing Lily yell to James to open up the door. Tony held his breath, hoping that Lily and James would do this for him. 

The door opened, and James took one look at his distant cousin. “You look like shit,” James paused, “The baby is cute though, yours?”

“I’m hoping he will be yours,” Tony rushed out. 

“Well, you better get inside, Lily would hate it if you and sprog caught a cold, since your delicate Malibu arse can’t take a little bit of cold.”

“Thanks man.” 

Tony followed James into the house, settling in to tell him about his father’s violation against him, the subsequent pregnancy, and need to protect Grant at all costs. James and Lily listened, gasping in all the right places, looking at the two of them.

They seemed to communicate silently, something that Tony personally found a little weird, probably some married magic he didn’t understand.

“Tony, are you sure about this? Magical adoptions are not something that can be easily broken,” James spoke up. They had just heard from the doctor, and he had been declared infertile. They had planned on donor sperm and James infusing his magic into the fetus, and that would definitely be an option to expand. But it seemed as if Tony just wanted to give them an already magical child, who was already tied to James by blood.

It would be simpler process in the short run.

“Look, I am not father material, my father is not father material,” Tony stated. It was a matter of fact. “I may not want him, but I definitely don’t want to see him raised by someone like my father, and right now, Howard is drawing blood from him on a monthly basis, treating him like a science experiment. This is the only thing I can do to make sure the kid has a decent shot at life.”

“He’s your son,” Lily pointed out.

“He was a science experiment, basically forced into me. Look if you don’t want to help . . .”

“Tony we want to do this for you, but, you are a little attached to him.” Lily pointed out, seeing the hurt in Tony’s eyes. 

Tony hadn’t wanted to get attached, but he had in the two short months. But that didn’t matter now. He needed to keep Grant away from Howard.

“I’m doing the right thing for him,” He replied. It hurt a little, Tony could admit that to himself. His son, but not really his son. He was confused, but knew, just knew he had to do the right thing, and this was the right thing.

He sighed. 

“What is his name? What is his birthday?” James wanted to know.

“Grant, after Steven Grant Rogers, he was born July 31st.” There was no reaction, good. He didn’t want Grant to be sought out due to who his parents were. “But you should probably change it. I also set up a trust vault for him for you to use for his care at Gringotts.”

“We don’t need your money, we are well of through our own inheritance,” James reminded him.

“Then keep it for him, a gift or something from the fun loving Uncle he never sees. Vow to keep him safe,” Tony begged. “Keep him away from all from that would harm him.” 

“We promise.”

Tony had wanted to stay awhile, help get the Potters acquainted with Grant, but he knew that he only had a limited amount of time, and he knew there would be repercussions when his father found out, but he could take them. 

Tony pulled out the adoption ritual and vows, the ritual that would effectively add James and Lily as his parents. He couldn’t genetically wipe out his and Steven Rogers contribution, but at least in the wizarding world, the kid would be recognized as James and Lily’s son. 

“What are you going to name him?” Tony asked so they could complete the ritual.

“Harrison James Potter,” Lily stated. They were planning on using that name for their first born to honor their fathers. “Harry for short.”

The ritual was completed. He snuggled the baby for one last time, handing him over to his friends, knowing that he had done the right thing.

Tony let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. 

It was finished.

He turned to leave, seeing the newly christened Harry reach out for him, but he didn’t reach back this time. He had parents now to protect him. He walked out the door silently and made his way back to MIT and grad school. 

He got the call that night that Howard and Maria had died on their way to the airport. Howard Stark had been ran off the road.

He cried for his mom, and laughed hysterically that his old man had died in an automobile accident of all things. That fucker deserved to die a slow painful death.

Tony was officially free.


	2. Chapter Two: Enter Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Time jump, approximated 7-8 years after the first chapter. Also, I had noticed some typos, and went back to fix and add some other little things in the first one. There will be mentions of abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional), grooming, and neglect. You have been warned.
> 
> Some things to note:
> 
> 1\. Tony is closer to 26 in this chapter. He has been deaged from the comic and MCU universe to be closer to the age of his teammates, kinda. Events of chapter on took place when he was 19, he took over SI when he was 21, kidnapped and Iron Man 1 took place at 24. 
> 
> 2\. Lets assume that Rogers went into the ice at 25, and he has been out for 2-3 years now.
> 
> 3\. Avengers happens before Iron Man 2, solely because I need him to go through palladium poisoning when he is interacting with Steve. He is already familiar with Natasha through his dealings with Shield.
> 
> 4\. This is taking effect right after Avengers 1.
> 
> On to the chapter.

Chapter Two:

The cleanup after the attack was slow going. There was an immense amount of clean up needing to be done and a lot of structures were damaged. Steve and some of the other agents had actually gotten finished clearing out an old Shield storage facility that had been damaged. There were several old journals of Howard Stark that appeared to be personal, and Steve had attempted to give them to Tony, however Tony told him to keep them, that the memories of his father were horrible and that it was better that his old man was dead. 

“Keep them, better yet burn them,” Tony had replied before walking off, grabbing scotch and heading to deal with some of the damage that had been inflicted on some of the other structures that Stark Industries had held in New York and to head over to the Expo. Apparently though the Stark Expo though hadn’t been touched in the mayhem and they were still working on getting it going in the next couple of weeks.

Steve felt though that he couldn’t in good conscience burn them for him. The Howard Stark he knew was an innovator, a patriot, pretty much a good guy. Natasha had told him though that Howard had been experimenting on himself, giving himself a dumb down version of the serum, and that he had become a heavy drinker.

Apparently Tony came by his alcoholism honestly.

He had missed a lot being in the ice for so long.

Nothing was the same.

He turned over, glancing at his clock. It was close to 3 am, and he wanted to get some sleep, but he knew it would be pointless. Another nightmare would just wake him up. When he was younger he had nightmares of getting beat up where Bucky wouldn’t be around to save him, being isolated, not being good enough. The nightmares were added to when he got older, of his mom dying, then of losing Bucky in the war. Now since the recent battles the nightmare continued with someone dying of the team, of Tony not waking up after hitting the pavement.

Steve groaned, getting up for the day. Since the super serum, he didn’t need to sleep as much, and needed to eat twice as much due to his metabolism burning through everything twice as fast. He rolled out of bed, pulling on a shirt not wanting to walk around Avengers Tower with his shirt off.

Just as he was walking out of his apartment, his eyes fell on the journals of Howard Stark.

Figuring that no one would be up, Steve grabbed the top one that was embossed with the initials TSGS. Steve didn’t quite know what to think, but he went ahead an opened the journal anyway. 

Steve flipped through the journal. Howard had been experimenting on a way for two men to have a child that was genetically both theirs, to at least help with homophobia. It was a noble thought, Steve mused.

He did not really understanding the science behind things, muddling through the science and the thoughts. Howard was a very convoluted thinker, almost thinking and writing in a string of consciousness. It went from wanting two men to procreate to Howard wanting to bring back to super soldier through the use of his, well his specimen that he left behind. He had been touched that Howard had spent a lot of his own personal funds trying to find him, but at what cost? He soldiered on through the reading, beginning to feel sick on his stomach.

Apparently Howard had experimented on Tony, who apparently had advanced genetics (though that really wasn’t explained), impregnating him.

Rage filled him for Tony. The teenager had rightfully hated the man.

He fought and kept his breathing under control, realizing the ramifications. He had a child with Anthony Edward Stark. A man he had no clue how to deal with. How the hell was he going to talk to Tony about this?

He had flipped through the journal more, seeing that Tony was keep is mostly a medical induced coma, which Steve was grateful for as it certainly had been forced on the teenager.

He read as the notes became less and less, and got to the point where Tony had been induced into labor and the child was born. Where was the child? Maybe this was all a cruel joke that Tony played on him . . . but he knew, deep down that Tony wouldn’t have even thought to do something this cruel to him.

Steve sighed, not knowing what to do.

He needed to know though about Grant, where was Grant, was there a picture of him somewhere? He felt so alone in this world, but maybe he wasn’t alone at all.

HRS HRS HRS

Steve debated for several more hours, letting his brain work through the information. In good conscience, he at least needed to know about Grant and where he was.

He picked up the journal, hoping that Tony would be responsive when talking about this. 

After searching through the workshops, labs, and training rooms, he finally found Tony sitting in the kitchen eating, while working on his StarkPad. He was hunched over, his eyes squinting at the screen.

“You should probably get your eyes looked at,” Steve mentioned, getting his attention.

“I had Lasik several years ago, the hits to the head during the last battle just caused my eyes to go out of focus, it will come back, always does,” Tony murmured, not turning away from his work. 

Tony looked down, staring at the numbers on his screen. He was dying of palladium poisoning. There was no getting around that now. Oh well, at least his kid was safe and sound. He made a note to change his will, leaving everything to the little boy who was now known as Harry James Potter.

Tony closed his eyes, willing away the memories of a little boy with brown hair and Steve’s eyes reaching for him. He wanted to get a drink right now to deal with those memories, but he couldn’t. He needed to stay focused and to figure out what he was going to do about the palladium.

Steve had placed the journal down, pulling out his own little book to write down Lasik, another thing he had to look up.

Tony froze for a second, staring at the journal. He thought he had covered all of his bases. He had given James and Lily the birth certificate and had thought he burned down the lab where Harry had been conceived and born. 

He didn’t say anything and was gathering up his stuff, hoping to dodge what was sure to be an uncomfortable conversation.

“How?” Steve asked. “I know you have advanced genetics but what does that mean?”

“I am a magic user, or some people call us Wizards,” Tony replied. He whispered a spell changing the book into a hawk and then changed in back. “The current thought is that the mutant have a deletion on the magic gene that the magical population carries. Mom was a witch.”

Steve nodded, having heard about wizards and magic users in his time. They were a secret society, and kept to themselves not wanting to be outed.

“Where is he?” Steve asked. He asked so quietly that Tony wouldn’t have heard him if he hadn’t been anticipating the question.

“Safe,” Tony responded.

“Not good enough.”

“Can we do this later Cap? I need to get over to the expo, put on a little show for the crowd. Opening night is in a couple of days, I should be there to rehearse with the dancers.” 

“No, I just need to know . . .”

“It’s none of your business and not your problem.”

“Of course it’s my problem,” Steve roared, getting frustrated even though he promised himself he would try to keep his cool. He knew though that it would be a struggle with Tony, he was just an infuriating man. “He’s my son!”

Tony saw red, not caring about how careful he was at the moment. His secrets that he held for almost a decade came spilling out.

“No, he is James and Lily Potter’s son! He was an experiment, something that Howard forced upon me. My own father fucking jacking me off to test my sperm, and then to help the process along because if I was “satisfied” then the pregnancy would be healthier. They had hoped keeping me drugged up would help, help with the psychological ramifications, but my damn perfect memory and recall doesn’t allow for that to happen too often.

“James and Lily took him in. He is safe and loved by them, and not be experimented on by Howard! I did everything I could do keep him safe, and I will stand by that decision now!” Tony roared right back. “I gave him up for adoption, walked away as he was reaching for me. For two months I cared for him and loved him, holding him after fucking Howard drew his blood, gave him injections of some kind! He being safe and loved was the only thing that got me through Afghanistan, him being cared for and loved was the only thing that got me through Obi’s betrayal. I flew a fucking nuke into a wormhole because I prayed to God he was still safe in England and not visiting here by some damn fluke. I have tried for 8 years to get him out of my mind and I will not have you ruining my life and his because of your need to play happy family with a kid that has a happy family!” 

Tony sprinted toward the landing plank and jumped, calling the Ironman suit to him. He was speeding off toward the expo. Tony didn’t even spare him second glance, getting his head back into the game. 

Steve stared at where Tony had just taken off, processing more of the information. Howard had violated his son over and over again, just for the sake of science. That explained so much. 

“How much did you two hear,” Steve sighed, looking at Nat and Clint, who had been in the shadows, not wanting to interfere.

“Enough,” Nat replied. “I didn’t know that Stark was a magic user, though it explains some of the tech that he has been able to dream up of.”

Clint stood back, taking a deep breath. “I had heard rumors of Stark Senior experimenting on Stark Junior. I had just never dreamt that a father would do that to his son. Howard was a legend within SHIELD. Something must have happened to him.”

“I heard he was injecting himself as well with a modified version of the formula, something akin to the Red Room, but there were never confirmation of the rumors. If he had been injecting the infant, we need to find him and make sure that he is okay.”

Steve was quiet through it all, while he listened to the two agents talk about the logistics of finding his son in the magical world. From what Steve remembered, the magical world was pretty well hidden, he only met a few of the users quite by happenstance while in Europe and hadn’t even considered their presence in the United States. 

He closed his eyes wondering what his son looked like. Tony had mentioned that his son had his eyes. He wanted . . . needed . . . to see them for himself. He needed to reassure himself that his son, who had been given up for adoption, was happy. He had known too many kids who grew up in an orphanage . . . 

“Find him. Let me know what you find,” Steve requested.

Nat nodded, making his way out the door to start some research.


	3. Chapter Three: Palladium Poisioning

Chapter Three:

Tony landed on the landing strip of Stark Tower after his little publicity stunt feeling like complete shit, palladium poisoning would do that to a person. He sighed, knowing that Steve would want answers, but there were still unknowns. There were people working for this “little project” that Tony knew were still out there. What if they found Harry and would continue Howard’s work?

Tony would never allow that to happen. So he continued to keep his son hidden with people he knew would love his son as their own.

He had cut all ties with James and Lily on Harry’s first birthday, not wanting to keep getting updates and pictures. James and Lily had meant well, sending the letters and pictures, and James was right, it was painful to have given up his son, he had rushed . . . but it was the right thing. 

Harry was being loved by them, and he was dying of palladium poisoning. 

Tony sat, dangling his legs off the ledge of the tower, his fear of heights long gone since becoming IronMan. He heard the sliding doors opening, but didn’t bother acknowledging the person approaching him. 

Steve sat down next to him, looking out at the city around them.

Tony didn’t talk, instead opting to allow Steve to lead the conversation. He knew that he had already let out more then what he had planned on, but he figured this was a good thing. A calculated risk. Someone else needed to know of Howard and Harry, and who better then the unknowing donor. Who else better to look out for him then Captain America himself

“Tony . . .” Steve started, not knowing what to say. 

“I came to peace a long time ago with what Howard did,” Tony whispered. “Dad died the same weekend that I gave him up for adoption. There are a lot of things I would say to him, and don’t get me wrong, I hate the bastard. And I hated Harry for a little bit. But when Howard left me alone for him for the first time, I stared at him and realized that he was helpless. He didn’t ask for any of it . . . and that is when I decided to help him, to get him away from Howard’s poison. It was already too late for me, but I could do it for him. It hurt to walk away from him, but it was the right thing. James and Lily love him. They are his parents, we aren’t.”

“Tony, I just need to make sure he is okay. I am so alone here. This city isn’t the city I left behind. I have no one left. I promise if he is okay, then I leave him alone and not bother his life.”

Tony pulled out a picture, handing it to Steve. James and Lily were holding Harry, waving into the picture, smiles on their face. 

The picture was a wizarding picture, the movements startling Steve for just a second. 

“Harry has magic like me and my mom. He is being raised by two of the best people I could think of to protect him, to keep him off the grid. I don’t want him found,” Tony paused, holding up a hand to forestall him. Intellectually Tony understood why Steve wanted to see Harry, get to know Harry. But it was unsafe, and Steve needed to know that.

He needed to get his thoughts together. “We were experimented on for the sake of science, for the ‘betterment’ of mankind. People knew, and no one once did the right thing, no one thought about what would happen to me and Harry, whether it was right or wrong, what it would psychologically do to us. They were so excited to just make a medical break through, which really wasn’t due to my genetics from Mom . . . . when Dad died, I wanted to go back, undo what I had did. But there were still so many unknowns, so better to keep him safe.”

Tony pulled at his collar, the palladium was making its way up toward his neck, soon he knew he wouldn’t be able to cover it. He stood, slightly wavering. Steve placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him. 

“I just want to see him, and if he is taken care of properly . . . loved . . . then I will not interfere,” Steve whispered looking at the moving picture. “He has my eyes, maybe even my lips, but everything else is you.”

Tony nodded. Harry, to Howard’s dismay, had been almost a spiting image of Tony.

“Dad was worried that my genetic defects were passed on.”

“He seems perfect to me,” Steve spoke softly, speaking in wonder of this kid he didn’t even know was out there until this morning, but he wanted to see so badly.

“He was perfect. Barely cried.” Tony smiled remembering the two months he had with his son. “I don’t hate him,” Tony whispered, “I just hated how he came about, what Dad did to me, what he forced upon me.”

They started walking inside, drowning out the sounds of New York. The penthouse had been repaired quickly because, well money talked and Tony just happened to have an excess laying around. The windows were replaced, and if it hadn’t been for the Loki shaped hole in the ground, then he wouldn’t have been able to tell that there had been a battle inside the place he and the Avengers called home.

Tony walked over to the bar, making himself a green smoothie to up his vegetable intake. He honestly hated the taste of it, but downed them for calorie sake.  
“I take it Clint and Natasha are looking for Harry now?” Tony asked as the blender died away.

“How do you figure?” 

“I saw them as I was walking away, figured they would be on it. Let me know what you find. Harry is safe and protected. James and Lily would never let anything happen to him.”

“Don’t you want to be involved?”

“Better for me not to be. I promised myself I wouldn’t mess him up like Howard messed me up.”

“Tony . . .”

Tony shook his head again with vigor. “I am not a father, at best I was a contributor to his DNA, someone who looked after him because there was not better option. You will see, James and Lily are loving that little boy and spoiling him completely rotten.”

Tony turned, making his way into his room, leaving Steve standing in the common room all alone.

\-----------

Days had passed, and Steve had noticed that Tony was acting more erratically then previously. No doubt it was because of all the talk of the past, dredging up hurt, the memories. Steve had almost regretted it, but something was telling him not to let it go . . . that he needed to at least check on his son.

Steve watched as Tony fought off some guy with whips and an arc reactor, gripping the table so hard that he felt the wood almost give. He was getting ready to suit up when he saw Pepper fling the case at him. What would Tony do without Pepper? The sassy redhead was a force to be reckoned with. 

Steve stood, getting ready to make his way down to the gym when he heard his phone ding, a text message. At times he found technology to be overwhelming, but damn if cell phones weren’t convenient for getting messages passed along quickly.

Clint: James and Lily Potter died October 31, 2005. Found their obituary. 

Steve frowned.

Steve: What else did you find?

Clint: Harry Potter is living with his maternal aunt in England. Are you up for a plane ride?

Steve hesitated for a moment. His son had lost his adopted parents. He had already gone through so much. Should he just leave well enough alone? But he knew the answer deep down, he needed to see his son, make sure with his own two eyes. If Harry was happy and healthy, then he would leave well enough alone. What could a little reconnaissance hurt?

Steve: Yeah. Let’s go lay eyes on him. 

So that was how Clint and Steve found themselves in a cramped Mini, sitting in front of a random school near Surry. Steve was looking at the files on his StarkPhone that Clint had hacked from the school pertaining to a Harry James Anthony Potter. There was a recent school picture of him, Harry had definitely inherited his baby blue eyes, but there was a scar on his forehead that hadn’t been there in the picture that Tony had showed him.

The boy hadn’t smiled in his picture, and his eyes looked old . . . sad almost.

Looking at the school records, his grades were just passing, not something that Steve would have imagined from a child who was part Stark, hell, Steve had gotten pretty good grades in school when he was young too. 

“This feels too easy,” Steve mused.

“If Stark hadn’t slipped up and said the names, we would have never found him,” Clint said. “There were no records of James and Lily Potter other then the obituary. Harry only had some random school files, and those we had to hack to find.”

Steve was silent for a minute. 

“Tony isn’t one to let things slip so easily. Why?” Steve mused. “His behavior has been pretty self destructive lately.”

“Tony has been through some pretty messed up things in his life so far. Seems like Howard pretty much did a number on him, and he did almost die in the last battle, most likely PTSD,” Clint rationalized. “I mean, he saw some pretty messed up things Cap, and he is a civilian. Phil had made some notes in his file about his behaviors being erratic after Afghanistan.” 

“Even though, Tony is pretty in control all the time. There has to be a reason for his slip.”

Clint shrugged, hearing the bell for the school, immediately looking up to find their mark. The plan was for Clint to act like he was making his way into the school to sign up one of his kids, easy peasy. Steve was still too easily recognizable, thus leaving him in the Mini. They even had an appointment with the headmaster of the school for right when the bell rang. Not like they were actually planning on using it though. 

Clint breathed a sigh of relief, happy to get out of the cramped Mini, popping in the special contacts that would allow Steve get the live feed onto his StarkPhone. He waded his way through the sea of children, looking around for Harry. 

“On your left, 4 oclock.” Steve hissed into his ear. Clint’s eyes swept over, spotting a shorter boy, wearing threadbare clothes, shoes that were obviously too big, and glasses there were held together by tape. The boy adjusted his book bag slightly, his shirt slipping to reveal a hand-shaped bruise on his shoulder.

“Follow him Clint. Somebody is hurting my boy.”


	4. Chapter Four: What to do.

Chapter Four:

 

Clint stared at the child, he was almost a spitting image of Tony. Harry had inherited Steve’s bright blue eyes, and the shape of his eyes, but almost everything else was all Tony. The curly hair, the tan skin, the glint of intelligence in his eyes, that was all the man who had given the child up, for a hopefully better life.

Looking at the bruise on his shoulder though, he could tell that it probably wasn’t the case.

Clint by no means had superhero powers like Steve, but he could hear Steve’s breathing change, he could hear the man grinding his teeth. 

“Stand down Steve, reconnaissance only,” Clint hissed into his com.

“That bruise . . .”

“Is something we will investigate. We don’t know what happened, he could have gotten it from the playground or rough housing. You know how kids can be and you are going to attract too much attention, you can’t be seen. Stay hidden.”

Clint knew his words were easier said then done. He remembered a time with the circus where his little brother would constantly get into trouble, and Clint would put himself on the line, protecting his brother. He was older, he could take it, but his brother couldn’t. Clint shook his head, bringing him out of his thoughts, focusing back on the little kid who was quickly making in way down the road.

The kid was undeniably slender, quick and lithe. Something that most likely came from the Stark side of the gene pool, if memory served him correctly, Howard had been slender throughout his life as well. Not that the bastard had deserved the kids he brought into the world. Steve pre-serum was more sickly in stature, this kid looked undernourished rather then sick. Clint was almost positive once Steve gained custody (or would Tony), the boy would flourish. 

But they had to get custody transferred first.

How the hell would Tony react? Clint watched as the boy darted between buildings, hoisting himself into a dumpster behind the local diner. The boy was dumpster diving . . . probably to get more nourishment. 

Steve watched on his phone, closing his eyes. This is not what Tony had believed. James and Lily were gone.. Tony didn’t know. 

\---------

Clint watched as Harry sat on the bench at the local playground. The playground looked all but abandoned, as if no one used the equipment anymore. The children who had once played there were probably all grown, sitting around playing video games. Clint sat down on a bench across the playground and started to read the local newspaper. Several minutes passed as the Mini pulled up, and Clint climbed in.

“What is he doing now?” Steve asked, not having to been able to watch as he was driving through the streets.

“I think he is doing homework,” Clint replied. “And it seems like he worked through it fairly fast. He just got started about 10 minutes ago and seemed to breeze through everything. He looks like Tony, his eyes were focused on the reading, zipping through everything at an amazing rate of comprehension.” 

Steve beamed.

Clint watched as Harry walked over to the bench to wear Clint had once sat and picked up the water bottle that Clint had purposely left there. Harry had taken long greedy sips from it, gulping down as much as he could. He also watched as Harry had found the 20 pound note that he had let fall out of his pocket. 

The boy looked around, trying to find Clint. He eventually gave up, putting the note in his pocket. 

Steve and Clint were both sure the boy would spend it on necessities versus frivolous toys.

That was something he had gotten from Steve’s side of the gene pool.

The two men were getting ready to pull away when they saw a gang of bigger kids approach Harry.

“Hey Freak,” a large, rotund boy yelled out. He waddled like a penguin, but resembled closer to a baby whale. “Dad’s looking for you.”

A flash of fear had crossed Harry’s face, and then he schooled his features almost immediately. 

The rest of the boys laughed, kicking dirt and other small debris at the smaller kid. Steve saw red.

“Steve,” Clint whispered, getting the man’s attention. “Don’t.”

“I can’t stand bullies, I need to do something.”

“Timing is everything,” The archer advised. “He has survived this long, another week or two until we can get everything settled quickly won’t kill him. We need to find out where he lives, bug the home, and get some proof. We will need to get Tony involved if we need to move fast, money talks.”

Steve nodded, not really wanting to leave his kid any longer then what he had to, but he knew that Clint was right. They couldn’t just take Harry on suspicion of child abuse, they needed some cold hard proof.

But Steve knew, and it was killing him.

\----------

Harry quickly drank down the rest of the bottle of water, quickly discarding it in the nearest rubbish bin. He ran back to Privet Drive as fast as he could, the backpack rubbing the most recent bruise on his shoulder causing pain to course through him. He couldn’t believe how stupid he was, getting lost in a daydream after finishing his ridiculously easy homework (homework that Dudley would steal).

It had been years since Harry let himself daydream about anything good, because nothing good ever happened to him. Sometimes when he closed his eyes, he could see dark eyes looking back at him, he could almost hear a soft tenor laugh.

At times, he could feel his arms reaching out to the man.

But, Harry knew that it was a phantom memory, something that he couldn’t possibly remember, something that his brain was giving him to latch on to, possibly to help deal with the trauma that he suffered on a near daily basis.

\----------

Clint followed the gang at a distance, his keen eyes keeping an eye on the small boy, quickly making his way through Little Whinging to a development of houses that looked at the same.

So boring.

He watched the child cross Wisteria Lane and on to Privet Drive, seeing him wave to a crazy cat lady as he eventually went into Number 4. At least they found out where Harry lived now. All Clint had to do was to plant some bugs tomorrow when the house was empty and to start gathering evidence of child abuse.

He jogged quickly back to the Mini, looking at Steve. Had it been only 72 hours that the man had found out he had a son?

Steve was staring down at his phone, fumbling through a text message.

“Tony flew back to Malibu for a couple of days. Natasha is with him. She definitely thinks there is something going on with the man.” Steve sighed. His loyalties were divided and he was torn. He didn’t want to leave his son, but knew he had to go support his teammate. “Apparently Tony’s 27th birthday is in a couple of days and Rhodey was planning on throwing something out in Malibu at Tony’s beach mansion.”

Clint hummed.

“We are all invited. I don’t want to leave . . .”

“We should go though for Tony, we are his teammates. A couple of days aren’t going to hurt us, and we need to figure out our next move. The last thing we need is for Captain America to get in trouble for kidnapping a British Citizen.”

Steve scrubbed his hand over his face, exhaling loudly.

“This sucks.”

“Yeah,” Clint said, understanding how the man felt.

\----------

Tony was sitting in his Malibu mansion, not really wanting to be there. He knew he only had a couple of weeks left, and had contemplated going to see James and Lily to see his son one last time . . . but not like this. 

He sighed, putting his head in his hands. His head operated now at a dull throb, and he could tell that the headache wouldn’t go away with over the counter meds.

His bedroom door opened, he expected to Pepper to walk through, however he was greeted by Natasha. She walked over to him, staring at the watches in front of him.

“Go with the Cartier watch,” Natasha advised placing the watch on the man’s wrist. She studied his face, noting that Tony had aged exponentially in the last couple of days. 

“Thanks. I can’t get this stupid headache to quit.” 

Several minutes of comfortable silence passed between the two as she walked over to him a massaged his shoulders for a couple of minutes. He was tense, and as his shirt shifted slightly she noted a criss-cross pattern, a macabre design reaching out from his arc reactor. Nat filed this away for later. 

“Thanks Nat, that made this headache a little more bearable,” Tony muttered. He normally shied away from touch, his parents never one to give out affectionate touches, and his one night stands were always kicked out after the deed was complete, Tony reflected quickly. It was amazing how dying can cause you to re-evaluate your life.

He sighed, looking at Natasha as he stood at the mirror, letting her tie his tie. He could have done it himself, but it was nice to have someone take care of him. Tony walked over to his mother’s jewelry box, and handed Nat a pair of earrings. 

“Keep these safe. They deserve to be worn by a strong woman like yourself.”

“Tony, don’t you think you should keep these for someone special,” Nat asked as she looked at the blue diamond earrings.

“Please, just let me do this. Mom had wanted her jewelry to go to women who could handle Stark men, I’m pretty sure that you qualify,” Tony said, his tone leaving no argument. “Now, if you knew you weren’t going to reach your next birthday, how would you spend this one?”

Natasha looked at him, and she knew, he was dying. That explained so much.

“I would do whatever the hell I wanted to do,” she answered him truthfully helping him into his Tom Ford suit.

He nodded. He would go to his dad’s grave and yell at him another day. Today, he would do whatever the hell he wanted to do.

\----------

Tony donned his IronMan suit, staring out into the crowd. He was holding a glass of alcohol that he didn’t even bother touching because he already felt punch drunk enough. He saw the faces of Pepper, Natasha, Clint, and Steve, all out in the crowd of people who weren’t his friends, just people who came for free booze and food. Natasha was whispering something into Steve’s ear, his expression becoming grim. 

Nobody cared about him. When he died, the company would go to Pepper to run until Harry became old enough to decide what he wanted to do with it. He wondered if James and Lily had told Harry anything about him. 

“Blow something up!” He heard someone out in the crowd yell.

He opened his eyes, not really seeing anything but a watermelon flying through the air.

Why the hell not? He thought to himself as he charged the reactor and took aim. Even feeling as horrible as he did, he made contact. Vaguely he was aware as Rhodey approached him, wearing one of his spares. 

He was aware of Natasha, Clint, and Steve grabbing everyone, moving them out of the way of the two battling friends, and very aware of his friend telling him he wasn’t worthy of the armor. 

Nobody cared.

He watched as his oldest friend flew away. 

Staring at the mansion, he did a quick scan. Nothing structural. Fine, he would fix it for Harry. 

“Tony . . .”

He turned at the concerned voice of Steve.

“You came back,” Tony said, his voice cracking from the effects of the palladium. He looked around at the small assembled team. 

“Of course, we are your friends . . . your teammates,” Steve said. 

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Tony asked.

“Yeah,” Steve said. Natasha had told her of his suspicions, and that she had made contact with SHIELD who would be bringing some to help. He needed to stall Tony so they could help him.

“And?” Tony asked, needed to know a little bit about the eight year old he left behind.

“He’s perfect,” Steve told him. It was the truth. “He looks like you.”

Tony closed his eyes, not wanting to hear or see anything else. He had done his job, kept his son safe. He nodded, opening his eyes, looking at his friends. 

“Well, great. I told you so, so if you don’t mind, enjoy the booze, I’m going off on a quick fly!”

Tony was leaving to die in peace now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some love. I normally don't post this much so quick, but eh, couldn't find anything I wanted to read so I decided to write my own. Comment if you want STONY or SuperFamily.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for suggested child sexual abuse, grooming, and Vernon being a creeper. Physical and mental abuse present as well.

Chapter Five:

“Damn it Nat!” Steve cried out, watching his friend, his teammate, the other father of his child, fly away. Tony’s behavior was too unpredictable, destructive. “What the hell is going on?”

“What the fuck was Rhodes thinking?” Clint shouted angrily. The man was supposedly Tony’s best friend, a brother after Tony’s parents had died. But the man didn’t seem to even notice that Tony was dying. 

“Rhodes is under orders, through and through military man. Tony is a liability now. His behavior is going to be brought up now with the senate. And Steve, I told you, he is dying. Palladium toxicity isn’t well known on humans, but has been known to cause death with long term exposure in lab rats,” Natasha rattled off staying focused, grabbing her stuff from her car. At least her precious corvette hadn’t been damaged in the scuffle. She had been studying Tony when she thought she would be his assistant, but the need for the Avengers came earlier then expected. “Palladium has a relatively low toxicity rate, but his heart is constantly exposed to it, has been since he was taken hostage. With the over usage of the Iron Man suit, he could be accelerating the process.”

Steve shook his head. “We need to find him, help him. He isn’t alone in this!” 

Nat smiled, “I helped him get ready for the party, and I slipped a tracker onto his watch.” 

She pulled out her StarkPad and tapped into the tracker frequency. Luckily it looked like Tony hadn’t left California yet. 

“I just sent Fury the tracker information, he will meet us wherever Stark settles.”

Steve just looked at her, waiting for him to spill more information about their teammate. 

“Nat, level with me. How long, when did SHIELD figure it out?”

“He doesn’t have much longer. We had an inkling that he was sick. He started becoming more unpredictable, more unstable. Long term uses of palladium, and the way that Tony is utilizing it has not been studied at all,” Nat noticed the way that Steve was looking at her. It had dawned on her that Steve was not caught up on anything that Tony went through in Afghanistan. “Abridge version, Tony was captured, taken hostage by men hired by his father-figure Obidiah Stane in Afghanistan, operated on, and forced to make them weapons.”

“What . . .”

Nat held up a hand to forestall him. “He didn’t, instead he made an electromagnet with the palladium to keep shrapnel from entering his heart, otherwise he would be dead. Palladium is what powers the tower . . .

“Fury assigned me to keep an eye on him if needed, and then everything happened with Vanko and then Loki showing back up, the battle in New York, Stark Jr . . .” Nat trailed off. “I didn’t realize how bad it was until I had a second to breathe. It won’t happen again.”

“We let a compromised man fly a nuke through a wormhole . . .” Clint whispered. The man knew he was dying and most likely figured he would die in the battle, only to survive.

“We need to be there for him,” Steve said.

Nat stopped for a minute, looking at the two men in front of her. “Look, Tony is not Howard. He displays classic PTSD because of the battle . . . . narcissism . . . and for all the public bravado, Tony is a fairly private person. Everything that has happened in his life has caused him to be very guarded. He is not going to take it well having all these people surrounding him. What he will want is for you to make sure that Harry is well, and taken care of. Start working on the case against those bastards, and bring baby Stark home.” 

Clint just looked at her. He was feeling uneasy about everything, but knew that Natasha’s orders and feelings were nearly spot on. For someone who wasn’t maternal at all, she always attempted to do the right thing by everyone. 

Steve scrubbed his hands over his face. Tony dying wasn’t something that could pass. Their son needed both of them, and even though Tony didn’t want anything to do with Harry at this moment, Steve figured that he was just guarding his heart. Besides, Tony didn’t want their son growing up in an abusive environment. That was presumably why he had given him up in the first place.

How different would Harry be if Tony had raised him?

He sighed. Life was easier in the forties.

5555555

Tony landed, and was decidedly hungry. Fuck it, he thought. I only have a couple of weeks left at most, might as well eat what I want. 

“I would do whatever the hell I wanted to.”

Which is how Tony found himself in a literal donut hole with a half a dozen donuts. His mind drifted, feeling the drunk effects of the palladium poisoning. Tony closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, munching on his donuts, wondering if Lily or James had ever given Harry a donut. He couldn’t recall if the wizarding world had donuts, if the didn’t it was a damn shame.

He did remember pumpkin pasties, now those were tasty. The next time he ventured into LA he would stop in Callegon de Magos and grab some. Bruce would probably enjoy them as well.

“I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the donut!”

Tony sighed, looking down, seeing double of the one-eyed man. Nick Fury, his mind vaguely recalled the last meeting between them. 'Last thing I am going to see is his ugly mug.' He thought. 

Tony rolled his eyes, and floated down to the man. “Coffee first, I can’t think straight.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Fury spat back sarcastically. 

Sitting in the booth, somewhat uncomfortably in the Iron Man suit, he sipped on his coffee half aware of what was going on.

He turned, seen Natasha walk in. The Cartier watch. She tracked him. Can’t a man die in peace?

Tony muttered she was fired, knowing that he had no way of really firing the woman, she was Fury’s person through and through.

“I thought you were sick. Tony, damn it, we are a team,” Natasha hissed. 

“You guys can keep your secrets, but I can’t keep mine,” Tony grounded out, wishing that the coffee would wake him up more. Fuck it. He pulled a pepper up potion from the compartments downing it. He needed to feel better now and fast.

“So you are a wizard,” Fury whispered. “Howard had let it slip . . . honestly, I don't know why I don't remember more.”

“An obliviate if another wizard heard. So you knew the bastard too,” Tony reflexively shut his eyes, not wanting to think of the bastard. "Asshole keeps coming up a lot lately. How did you know dear old dad?"

“He was one of the founding members of SHIELD. He spoke of you often, always said that you were the future,” Fury relayed. 

“He must have been speaking of his other son.” Tony spat back sarcastically, wondering what would have happened if Harry had been around.

“What do you remember of your dad?” Fury was curious. He knew the man never really spoke of his departed father fondly. 

“He was cold, calculating. He never said he loved me, let alone even like me. He barely tolerated me in the end, treating me like I was more or less just another experiment gone wrong.”

Fury nodded, knowing that Howard had changed, and no one could figure out why. “The Howard Stark that Captain and I knew was kind and curious. He loved his country and his kid. That technology in your chest was a stepping stone . . . it was a rough draft not the final, not by no stretch of the imagination. Palladium was never supposed to be the power source. He left it all for you, saying that he was limited by the technology of his time.”

Tony didn’t want to hear it, he rolled his eyes trying to tune out the man. He was going to die anyway. Let someone else figure shit out. 

“Hit him.”

Tony was so sluggish, he didn’t have time to react. The whirl of the device sounded, injecting him with some unknown liquid. He started panicking, remembering a time when Howard was injecting him with unknown liquids.

"Breathe Tony, I'm no here to hurt you," Natasha said soothingly, trying to keep them man from going into a panic attack.

“What are you going to do, steal my kidneys and sell them,” Tony exclaimed, rubbing the spot on his neck, though noticing that he was immediately feeling better. “What did you do to me?”

“Not to you, for you,” the one eyed man clarified.

“Lithium dioxide,” Natasha explained. “It’s not a cure Tony, but it will take the edge off.”

“We need you focused, and back to work.”

“I have tried every known element close to palladium, nothing works, trust me I know, and I’m like a genius.”

“You tried every known element . . .” Fury trailed off. 

Tony looked up at him, intrigued.

Fury got up, placing his coffee cup on the table rather forcibly, the sound reverberating throughout the restaurant. “Come on, now that you are back online, you have work to do.”

Tony shrugged his shoulders figuring why not. 

5555555555

Steve stared out over NYC, wondering if he had made the right decisions leaving Harry in England and Tony in California; his somewhat family scattered all over right now. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out his next step, and it was unnerving. He was a tactician, always figuring out what the next step could be, and he felt like he was floundering. 

Clint had contacted the lawyers to start the legal process of claiming Harry, while Natasha was tasked with taking care of Tony. 

Steve closed his eyes, hoping that his teammate could be helped. He couldn’t imagine telling Harry that his other parent had died as well, the one who had cared for him, maybe even loved, him so much that he had tried to save him from a life of abuse from Howard’s hands. He stamped down the urge to call Tony to see how he was doing, to tell him about their son. 

Their son.

Steve knew what it was like to be experimented on, but he did it willingly, and when he was an adult. He wasn’t an unwilling 18 year old kid.

That was another thing that was baffling to him, the Howard he had known wasn’t at all like Tony had described him. What had changed so drastically in his friend that he would force his own progeny to carry another person’s child? 

A child who would need both of them. Tony had stated he didn’t want anything to do with Harry, but Steve knew, just knew that it was Tony’s bravado and perhaps sickness speaking. 

“Steve, apparently Stark has the best lawyers in town. They have already negotiated through all the red tape here and are ready when we are to proceed with custody negotiations. The best thing we can do now is be able to collect evidence of abuse that way there will be no contesting the termination of rights.”

Steve nodded.

“Come on, I have the jet ready.” 

There was no way they were going to leave Harry over in England any longer then necessary. He knew, just felt it in his gut that there was something going on with his son.

5555555555

Harry hated bath nights with his uncle. His uncle would stand and watch Harry shower, making sure he didn’t use too much of their hot water, or too much soap. It was creepy and made Harry feel uncomfortable. 

“You are going to make someone really happy one day,” Vernon leered, making comments that Harry would always respond to with a customary yes sir. When Harry was young, Vernon often degraded him, putting down his body. It had changed recently.

Harry shrunk in on himself, hating the way that the man made him feel, but it was this or not be allowed to shower at all. “This summer I am going to have to start introducing you to some of my associates so you can really start earning your keep.”

Harry shuddered knowing what his uncle meant, hoping and praying that his life would change. His sharp mind was already attempting to find ways to leave the Dursleys, but everything he tried never worked, and the punishments were always worse.

“Good boy, you didn’t go over your soap allotment this time,” Vernon commented. “Tonight you will only have 100 lines to complete.”

“Yes Uncle Vernon,” Harry replied, waiting for the bastard to hand him a towel. It was the smallest, rattiest towel they owned. He pulled on his clothes too quickly for Vernon, earning him a quick cuff to the head, causing his face to hit the door jam. That would bruise.

Vernon clicked his tongue. “You shouldn’t be so clumsy boy. Another 100 lines. You know what to write.”

He locked the door on Dudley's second bedroom, stepping over the broken toys, making room so he could write on the wall, “I am a drain on my hard-working uncle, a waste of space who shouldn’t be alive.”

Harry knew the lines by heart, and looking at the small area left, he knew that soon he would have to repaint the room again. As much as he tried, the tears this time wouldn’t stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some love. Reviews and comments rock my socks.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry reunites with Steve, Tony figures out a way to save himself.

Chapter Six:

Steve stood outside the Dursley resident, staring at the cookie cutter house, knowing what happened in that cookie cutter house wasn’t anything ordinary. From the bugs that Clint had placed on Harry’s backpack, they could tell that Harry was being groomed, abused, and neglected. Steve closed his eyes, trying to focus. This was a rescue mission, and they were going to rescue his son. He couldn’t loose control now, everything was now within his grasp.

It had taken another week to get the papers drawn up, which was in fact extraordinarily fast, however it didn’t feel fast enough for Steve. Tony’s behavior had become more erratic according to news reports, and Steve was torn on how he was going to help his friend but shield their son from his other fathers behavior. The news had reported on Tony’s birthday party, and was very unflattering toward the billionaire, but Steve knew better, knew that Tony was in fact dying. Nat had indicated though that there was a way to save their teammate, their friend. So all Steve could do was focus on their son.

It was still all surreal to him.

A son.

He looked at the cookie cutter house with the same black door and same bronze colored numbers as everyone else on the block, with the same white picket fences.

Harry was going to be in a shock when he moved into the tower and started living in the city. Would the city work for raising a kid? Steve wondering idly as he waited for Clint. He grew up in the city though and turned out find. 

Would Tony want to raise their kid in the city?

Their kid.

Would he want anything to do with him at all?

Steve sighed, knowing he was getting ahead of himself. He still didn’t know how Tony would react, only hoped that they would be able to form a unified unit to raise their kid. 

“You look lost in thought,” Clint told him walking up to him. “Lawyers have everything wrapped up, Petunia signed away her rights. Vernon put up a fight, but I highly suggested (read threatened) him that it was in his best interest to not fight this. They told me that we could just take him after he got home for school. That he was to leave all of his possession that couldn’t fit in his backpack. They picked up their whale of a kid, and I suggested that they not come back here for a little bit.”

Steve bit the inside of his cheek. His guardians didn’t even want to say goodbye.

“Apparently Harry showed up their doorstep when he was just 18 months old. Petunia and Vernon didn’t even know that James and Lily had a child . . .” Clint trailed off. “They are the most unpleasant people. Even if he wasn’t yours and Tony’s I would have figured out a way to get him out of there.”

Steve nodded, looking at Clint. 

“They don’t know who Harry’s parents are, do they?” Steve fidgeted. The lawyers and Clint thought it was best to keep the biological parents completely silent. They had an iron clad case for abuse, grooming, and neglect. The lawyers were working on it, but they moved quickly though to get Harry out sooner rather then later per Steve’s request.

“Absolutely not. They were persuaded to sign over their rights due to the overwhelming amount of evidence of grooming and neglect,” Clint said. “I am sure Tony will take care of the rest when he discovers how poorly treated Harry was. Now all we have to do is to bring Harry home whenever he gets home.”

Steve sighed, glancing at his watch again. He just wanted to get Harry on the airplane and to put as many miles that he could between him and the Dursleys. Some to the tapes were mild, just a couple of snide comments here and there, but others . . . there was no doubt in Steve’s mind that Harry was going to be another lost boy in the system. Steve knew of too many during his time, and now during this time.

He would be damned if that was going to happen to his son.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tony stared as Pepper left his . . . her . . . office. That was going to take some time to get used to. 

He wanted, needed, to apologize, tell her what was going on, but it didn’t seem to work out for him. Frustrated, he grabbed the moving sculpture on her desk wanting to fling it across the room, but instead decided to settle the movements. He would have to figure out a way to reach out to her later, maybe salvage whatever they had together or figure out a way to continue to work together as CEO and owner, but now, he needed to focus.

Howard had stated that he made all of this for him, that he was his greatest creation . . . Tony scoffed, remembering what kind of father Howard had been toward the end. Sure, the drinking hadn’t stopped, but Howard hadn’t always been evil. It seemed as if Fury was right, that his dad at the very least had some kind of fondness to him.

Tony sighed, he didn’t have time to think of that right now. The lithium dioxide would take that edge off, but it wasn’t a cure, and he needed to find a cure. Tony knew that his dad was on to something, but hadn’t quite figured it out. 

He looked down at the strawberries, picking them up, realizing the colossal mistake he had made, quickly throwing them in the trash can knowing that the cleaning crew would take care of it before Pepper came back. Spinning on his heel he stared at the designs for the old expo, seeing something he hadn’t seen before.

Everything in new perspective.

Son of a bitch. The old mad had done it again.

“Time to go to church,” Tony muttered, calling up some guys to somehow fit the old expo in his outrageously small Audi.

Maybe, just maybe he could figure this out. He didn’t want to die.

Maybe he could see Harry again. The thought hit him, he had thought of the little boy often, but never once wanted to interfere in with the way that James and Lily were raising him. He was happy, healthy. Harry didn’t need him in his life. 

He pulled up to his mansion, it was time to get to work.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Harry was having a horrible day. His uncle was in rare form this morning giving him a morning smack to the back of the head, with the promise of something more when he got home. He sighed, folding his backpack tight in front of him to avoid rubbing the backpack against the welts and whip marks he had gotten the night before. 

He didn’t know what he did to cause his family to hate him so much, but he knew he had to hang in there. It wouldn’t be forever, and one day he would be out from the cupboard underneath the stairs. 

Harry was so lost in the fantasy of shoving his fat, whale-like cousin down the stairs that he didn’t notice the fancy car sitting in the drive, and due to this he ran into a hard body. Harry stumbled backwards, bracing himself for a fall when he felt hard arms wrap around him, rubbing against the welts on his back.

He flinched, but quickly schooled his expression.

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled staring down at the ground.

“Faults mine son, I stepped back right into you,” Steve said quietly, not wanting to startle the young boy. He noticed the flinch when he had braced him, cataloguing the reaction, making note to get the young boy looked at.

Harry blinked, staring at the man in front of him.

No way.

“You’re Captain America,” Harry whispered, “I watched news footage of you guys saving New York City a month and a half ago . . .”

“You can call me Steve,” he told the small boy. Harry’s eyes were just like his he noted, except there was a wariness and an intelligence behind he eyes, something that he had definitely inherited from his other father. 

Harry looked around, trying to figure out why the heroes were here. He scanned the area, noticing that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, no trouble in the area what-so ever.

“Do you need my Aunt and Uncle for anything?” Harry inquired.

“No, we already spoke with them. We are here for you, if you want . . .” Steve was hesitant, trying to figure out a way to tell him what was going on. Tony would have always known what to say, the man always had a way with words. 

Harry continued to look at Steve, waiting for an explanation. Why would they be here for him?

Steve waited a minute and began to soldier on.

“Did you know that I was an orphan? My father died serving in the military when I was a child, and my mother died when I was sixteen,” Steve told his son. “I thought I was all alone, but I found out recently that I wasn’t,” Steve dropped his voice so only they could hear. “I found out that I had a son . . .”

Harry’s eyes snapped up, not wanting to believe what he was being told. He had wanted this for so long, dreamt about being whisked away by some other family member that wasn’t constantly telling him that he was worthless, that he was going to be sold the minute they found a buyer. 

“We have the same eyes,” Harry whispered. “Blue with flecks of green.”

“Harry,” Steve addressed him directly. “I know that this is a shock, but you can come live with me. There are lots of things we need to talk about, and we probably shouldn’t talk about it being so open.”

Harry nodded, knowing that Ms. Ledbetter would be coming home soon from the grocery store and she was a gossip. 

“Is there anything you want from the house?” Clint asked softly. “This is the last time you will have to go in there.”

“I should grab some little things then.”

Steve nodded, following Harry into the house. Steve had anticipated following Harry up the stair, but instead he had stopped almost immediately where the was a small door underneath the stairs.

Surely . . . Steve knew that they house had four bedrooms, every house on this block had 

But no, when Harry opened the door, there was a small crib mattress there, with a little soft cream blanket with a gold embroidered cars and robots all over it. The blanked was dingy and there was some blood on it, but Harry had treasured it. There was a little gold letter that stated, “I love you kiddie.”

“I don’t remember ever being told that I was loved, but I had proof,” Harry whispered when he picked up the blanket. He also picked up a stuffed wolf, dog, and deer that had seen better days. “I know that they are junk, but it’s all I have of them.”

“It’s not junk son,” Steve’s voice cracked uncharacteristically. 

Harry reached for small robot he had assembled from the spare parts he found in the spare bedroom, but when he reached for his clothes, a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

“We will pick you up some new clothes when we leave here,” Clint told him. 

“Is that all?” Steve asked, pushing himself off the wall, keeping his feelings in check. He wasn’t going to loose it now, he couldn’t afford to.

“Yeah, where to now?”

“We have a hotel room in London for couple of days, it is going to take a couple of days to get your visa, but after that, we will head to New York,” Steve told him. 

Harry nodded looking back at the house. He had spent 8 miserable years in that house, wishing for someone to save him, letting his fantasies carry him into dream land. 

“Harry, are you coming?” His father asked, as he was stowing away his prized possessions in the trunk.

“Yeah,” Harry said, turning around and not bothering to look back at the house of horrors that had been his home.


	7. Not a chapter, but idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter idea, but need advice since I don't have a beta

The idea of the chapter starts with them flying back to America and head to the expo. There is a scene I can't get out of my head which would turn this fic into an epic long one . . . Harry saves Peter with a protego shield. Peter is essentially an orphan (whether left behind by parents with no May and Ben, or another tragedy, I don' know yet) but he is found to be the biological child of Tony due to his play boy days. Basic outline changes to include Harry and Peter being raised as brothers . . . Harry going to Hogwarts without Peter, Peter gaining his powers . . . let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one of the Stark Expo.

Chapter Seven:

Steve looked over at Harry. It had been an exhausting two weeks of getting through all the red tape, terminating the rights of the Dursleys completely, and making sure that Harry would be in the free and clear to start his life in the states. The boy hadn’t asked too many questions and was too quiet for Steve’s liking, most likely due to a life time of being seen and not heard, and probably not being seen as well. And for everything that had happened to him in his short life, he was unfailing polite, kind, and nice. 

“Hey Buddy?” Steve called getting Harry’s attention. The boy had been reading a book on advanced mechanics and American muscle cars. Harry looked up, his blue eyes making contact with Steve’s. “The judge has gotten us the go ahead to return to the states. Clint said he can have the jet fueled and ready to head back within a couple of hours. Do you want to go home?”

Home.

It was going to be something different for the two . . . three . . . of them. They had attempted to get in contact with Tony only to find out he had been cut off from the outside world, something that he had to complete according to Fury. Steve hoped and prayed that it was a cure. Harry deserved both of his parents. 

“That sounds great Mr. Rogers.”

“Steve,” Steve reiterated again. He had read in some parenting books that it could take awhile for familial relationships to be formed. 

“Steve, do you know who my mother is? Is she dead?” Harry asked, looking unsure of himself. 

Steve took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to tell Harry about Tony, and if Tony would even be still around to be with Harry. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked questions . . . I can . . .”

Steve shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It’s kind of complicated right now. I do know though that you were loved so much.”

“Why didn’t they love me?” Harry asked, looking down, his eyes welling up with tears. Steve watched helplessly as his son fought the tears, but lost.

He scooped up Harry in his arms, drawing him in, ignoring the slight flinch that Harry displayed with physical contact. “The only answer I have for the Dursleys is that they overall are not kind people. They only care about material things and themselves and I think are incapable of caring for anyone other then themselves. I have it on good authority that your adoptive parents James and Lily loved you so much though. I know that they took good care of you and loved you. There are some pictures of them back in New York at the tower if you want to see them, I am sure I can get them.”

“I saw a picture of Mum once,” Harry told him, sniffling into his father’s T-shirt. “Aunt Petunia saw me looking at it and she threw it away.”

“I can try to go back to the house and get anything that you think you may have forgotten.”

“No, I got everything,” Harry said a little embarrassed. They had gone out in the week had gotten Harry clothes that had fit him, books, and glasses that were meant for him. Harry had been amazed with how much better he could see. He was already exceedingly grateful for the man. . . his father. Harry at times had to pinch himself to believe it was true, that he was out of hell and no longer living in the fear that he was going to be sold to the highest bidder. “We can go to New York when you are ready.”

Steve nodded, smiling brightly at the boy. “It’s going to be an adjustment for the both of us. New York wasn’t the same as it was when I went into the ice. Maybe we can explore it together when we get back. Is there anything that you read about that you would like to see first.”

Harry lit up, excited that his father actually wanted his input, and actually spend time with him. It shouldn’t have been surprising though as Harry lead him through different parts of London, and at times seeing things that Steve couldn’t see. And at one peculiar time, a weird gentleman, wearing a cape like thing had come up to Harry bowing. Thanking him for something.

Steve had gone into a defensive stance, getting ready to take down the man, it had warmed Harry’s heart. No one had wanted to protect him before.

“I was thinking the Stark Expo. I was so excited to see that it was coming back, and there are so many exhibits show casing advancements in medicine, energy, robotics, chemistry. It’s just so exciting. Do you think maybe we will see Dr. Banner or Dr. Stark there? You know both of them, what are they like? I read all of Dr. Stark’s research on clean energy and the use of neurotransmitters with helping with emotional trauma. There is also Dr. Banner’s research on gamma radiation. Isn’t that gamma radiation what made you, well, you?”

“I don’t know much of the science. I know that I was a skinny boy with asthma, underdeveloped for my age, constantly getting into fights with guys who were twice my size. I lied every chance I had to get into the Army, to play my part, to fight the good fight. Then Dr. Erskine gave me the chance. I didn’t question the science, but was grateful for the chance to be part of something bigger.”

“Seems a little reckless.”

“I had nothing to loose,” Steve shrugged helping Harry pack what little he had acquired. He didn’t want to buy too much knowing that they would have to travel back to New York and that there were plenty of places to pick up more clothes and shoes for his son when they got back to the city. “We can go to the Expo, I am pretty sure that Tony can get us tickets to his own show. Dr. Banner we will probably run into at the tower. I kinda live at the tower with the Avengers. And you will too. We can figure out living situation when we get there, but the tower has plenty of rooms, no cupboard under the stairs for you.”

Harry went quiet, looking up at the man. The enormity of the situation finally hitting the 8 year old. He would no longer live in fear, he would no longer have to hide his intelligence. He would be safe and possibly loved. 

And just like that, not everything was solved, but Harry had come to some sort of peace.

“In case I forget to tell you, thank you for saving my life.”

“You are my son Harry, I would die for you.”

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony stared at his notes, the particle accelerator ready to synthesize the new element. Steve’s old prop shield was holding up one of the pieces, exactly what he needed to finish his project.

Figures.

If this worked, he wouldn’t waste any of his time anymore. Yinsen’s words resonated in his mind. Sure he hadn’t wasted his life, getting rid of weapons and becoming Iron Man, but he truly was a man who had everything and yet nothing . . . or could he? He remembered Lily and James saying that he could be a part of Harry’s life and he had declined at the time, falling back into his playboy ways, sleeping with women 4 out of the 7 days of the week.

He needed to rest sometime.

But, none of them wanted him for him, they had seen a train wreck and had taken advantage of it, and he hadn’t minded. It just wasn’t what he needed, but he wouldn’t have listened to anyone at the time, he was on self-destruct mode.

Pepper charged into his life and made him work it out. 

He threw the notes on the ground, realizing that his dad’s notes had used the research on the Tesseract, and where he was leery of using it considering what they had fought against not just a month and a half ago, but he also didn’t want to die.

“Let’s do this,” Tony muttered, grabbing the vise grips and safety goggles. He knew that JARVIS wasn’t completely on board with it, but time was running out.

Watching the triangle glow, as DUM-E was whirling and beeping about putting out fires, Tony felt a sense of peace wash over him. He was going to survive, and he would be a part of Harry’s life, Tony mused as he studied the element. JARVIS confirmed, it was going to be a suitable replacement for palladium. He wasn’t going to die. He took a deep breath stealing himself. There was numbers to run, and tests to take place,

The news continued to drone on in the background, the mention of the Stark Expo catching his attention. Hammer was making a presentation, that two-bit hack couldn’t invent anything. Turning back to his notes, he heard his phone ring.

The voice made his heart stop . . . fucking Vanko. Vanko was alive and working with Hammer. Fucking Hammer. Pepper was going to be there for the presentation. Tony had to get to her, screw testing the new element, there wasn’t time.

“Sir . . .”

“Not now JARVIS, not enough time. Time to do this,” Tony exclaimed, throwing the new element in his chest piece. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The quinjet had landed in the city a couple of hours before, and Steve decided that just by listening to Harry chatter on about the Stark Expo that they might as well visit it. Pepper had left VIP tickets for them at the Will Call area and Harry was beaming with excitement. Harry reached over to grab Steve’s hand a couple of times in the crowd, each time Steve’s chest filling with warmth as the child tugged and dragged him to the different exhibits.

The fight hadn’t touched the Expo, something that Tony had been exceedingly grateful for, and it seemed like all of New York had showed up at the Expo that night.

“Look Steve!” Harry caught his attention.

Harry was dragging him over to the robotics interactive display. It had been set up for the kids to program and play with their own bots. Harry immediately started working on the computer, writing what looked to be gibberish to him. 

Steve couldn’t wait for Tony to meet him, he was sure that Tony and Harry would hit it off . . . how could they not? 

Steve scanned the area, a habit he hadn’t been able to quit, assessing for threats and making sure that they area was in general secure. He spotted a couple of families milling around and another little boy playing by the robotics showcase for kids as well. Harry had struck up a conversation with him, Steve overhearing that both had a lot in common as both of them were orphans. Peter, was his name, and he had a moment of freaking out when he realized who Steve was, but apparently calmed himself down enough to play with Harry.

The boys continued to talk and play, making Steve smile. It seemed that without the Dursely’s influence that Harry would flourish. Steve bought both kids a small trinket from the IronMan merchandise area. It seemed that Peter was a bigger fan of Tony Stark and Iron Man.

“Boys, it’s almost time for the VIP tech talk,” Steve told 

“Hey Peter, do you want to join us for the tech talk?” Steve asked. “Is there someone we need to tell?”

“I came by myself. Andrea, the house mother, is working third shift and it’s really easy to sneak out,” Peter said, causing Steve to pause for a minute. The kid was resourceful, that was for sure, and as smart as a whip. He was giving Harry a run for his money. “I kinda snuck in, please don’t tell Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers.”

“I won’t, and you can call me Steve. I don’t think Tony will be too worried about losing a couple of bucks for admission. All the same though, I think I would feel better if you stuck by use though. I can get you into everything anyway. Being Captain America has it’s perks.”

Harry smiled, allowing himself to be happy. He had his dad and a friend. The day was going awesome, and nothing could ruin his day now.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony pushed his thrusters to the max, pushing the suit and his body closer to the Expo. It had been seemingly short flight from Malibu, but it didn’t help Tony’s anxiety what-so-ever. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself down to focus on the task at hand. Get Pepper out of the Expo, take out Hammer, find Vanko. Easy three step plan.

Right?

Tony saw the lights of the Expo coming up fast, glancing at the time display. Hammer should have taken the stage already, no doubt trying to imitate the master at working the crowd. Flying in he noticed his War Machine armour, pushing down a feeling of betrayal for the minute . . . there were lots of civilians around, lots of Stark employees out in the crowd, lots of what appeared to be drones on the stage. 

“We’ve got trouble,” Tony started.

“Tony, there are civilians present. I’m here on orders.” Rhodey sighed.

“Smile and wave to the crowd . . .” Tony instructed trying to keep the panic down. The last thing that needed to happen was someone getting trampled in a stampede. “These people are in danger. You got to get them out of here. Look, I know I haven’t been the greatest, but you have to trust me for a couple of minutes, alright?”

“I tried that already, remember?” Rhodey retorted.

Yeah but you really didn’t see. “I think he is working with Vanko. Asshole called me,” Tony explained quickly.

Rhodey sighed, knowing that he would have to trust his friend. He wouldn’t like about something like this, not Tony. 

Tony walked calmly up to Hammer, “Where is he, where are you hiding Vanko?”

“Who?” Hammer asked stupidly, with one of his stupid grins on his face. 

Tony heard the whirling of War Machine, praying to whoever was listening that his best friend wouldn’t try to blast him out of the stage.  
“It’s not me, the whole system is locked up, I don’t have control. You have got to get out of here,” Rhodey screamed fanatically at his friend.

“Lets take this outside, see you outside,” Tony reiterated as he flew away, hoping that the falling glass wouldn’t hurt the people inside the expo. 

Tony’s sharp eyes glanced around the Expo, catching Pepper’s red hair being flanked by Nat and Happy . . . she was safe . . . looking down before flying out of the building, he also caught sight of Steve, who had grabbed a table and was shielding children underneath. He sighed in some relief, knowing that Steve would help keep casualties to a minimum.

He lead Rhodey out, knowing that this would be, yet again a fight for his life. 

Tony closed his eyes, focusing on a picture that he kept in his mind’s eye of Harry, with his bright blue eyes and toothless grin. If he made it out of this alive, he swore to himself he would go visit his kid.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Steve watched with wide eyes as the Hammeroids started to open fire on the crowd . . . oh shit. He looked over and grabbed Harry in one arm, and Peter in the other, diving them underneath the closest table for cover. He needed his shield. 

“Steve, there is a prototype shield in the display area paying tribute to Howard Stark,” Peter wheezed out, fishing in his pocket for his inhaler.

Steve realizing what the young boy was doing, grabbed the inhaler and held it up to his lips. “Breath deep Pete, match your breathing with mine.” 

Steve looked over Harry real quick. “Son, do you have any injuries?”

“No,” Harry answered quickly, his eyes roaming over his father and friend making sure that they didn’t get hit by shrapnel. 

Steve closed his eyes, their first day in New York and this is not what he had expected it to be. A trip to the Expo, maybe a quick bite to eat at one of the deli’s near bye, and maybe a walk through Brooklyn, something low key, but not a fight for their lives. To top it off, Steve also found himself with another boy, one that he almost immediately felt responsible for. Peter had no parents, was an orphan like the two of them. They needed to look out for the small kid,

There was a break in the action, and Steve wasting no time, hauled them up to their feet. “Boys we are going to have to move fast, hold on to me, and Peter tell me where we need to go to get that shield.”

Peter quickly gave Steve the directions, and bracing himself, Steve hoisted Peter on one hip, and Harry on his back, praying to God that they made it out of there. 

He quickly made his way to where Peter had indicated the prototype was, praying that it was somewhat durable, thinking back to when he had used his prop shield to go into a fight in the war. 

Steve set Peter down quickly hoisting Harry off of his back, looking at the display. It was a mannequin of Howard holding a replica of a shield, passing it to Steve. It was almost eerie, the details that they had gotten a hold of, but Steve did remember that Howard was in fact Tony’s father. 

“Boys, stand back, I need to break the glass,” Steve instructed the boys, watching them move several feet away. Steve picked up a chair, and quickly broke the glass. The shield was made of a sturdy metal alloy, if it was vibranium he wouldn’t know, but at least it provide some cover when they were out in the open. 

“Good job Peter,” Steve praised, looking out into the fray. He didn’t receive a reply. Whipping around to the boys, he only found Harry. “Where is Peter?”

“He dropped his inhaler. He ran back out trying to find it,” Harry told his father. “I tried to stop him, but he said the house mother would get mad if he lost another.” Steve sighed, debating on going out after the youngster, but not wanting to leave his own flesh and blood without protection as well. “Steve, we have to find him!”

Steve nodded, knowing he would have gone after him. Steve stuck his head out, trying to find the small boy who had quickly wormed his way into Harry’s heart as well as his if he was being completely honest with himself. Assessing the area quickly, he saw that the Hammeroids had started invading the area. Definitely not a good situation to be in, he definitely needed to get the boys and get them out of harms way.

Steve grabbed Harry, weaving their way through the crowd, holding tightly to him. He didn’t want to loose him as well. Retracing their footsteps, he rounded the corner, seeing Peter with his mask on, raising his up his toy repulsor. The adults around him scattering, no one bothering to grab the small child. Steve started to run faster, but having the extra weight of Harry was weighing him down. He wasn’t going to make it on time!

Just as he all but given up hope, and was getting ready to tell Harry to close his eyes, Peter not moving, staring down the droid . . . Tony showed up, blasting the damn robot to the ground. Oh thank God. 

“Nice work, Kid,” Tony praised him before flying off to face his foes. New plan . . . get the boys back to ground zero as all the droids seem to be deployed at the moment. Surely, the droids would be dispatched and hopefully there would be a safe ground for the boys. He needed to help Tony.

He took the boys into the main Expo area, running into Pepper.

“Steve, thank God you are here. Have you seen Tony?”

“Yes, he is still out there fighting, drawing the drones away from the Expo. I need to go find him, but I need . . .”

His eyes darted toward the boys. 

Pepper followed his gaze, seeing two boys, both the same height, stature standing next to each other. Pepper knew that Steve had brought home Harry earlier that day and that they were at the Expo, but she was baffled where the other child had come from. But that didn’t matter at the second. 

“I’ll keep the boys with me,” She told him. “You are needed in the field, minimizing casualties and having you here will help some with PR. The boys will be safe here with me, and I will make sure that they stay close to me. Help Tony, he has been off lately.”

“I know Pepper, don’t worry, I’ll try to make sure he gets back alright.” With that, Steve gave Harry a tight hug and ruffled Peter's hair, praying to God, Thor, and anyone else who was listening that his family would come out alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have seen Endgame, I will not spoil Endgame. 
> 
> I will say that everything will be alright.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stark Expo, Battles, and Parenthood

Chapter 8:

Pepper looked down at her small charges, both were quiet, polite boys . . . one with jet black, straight hair and startling blue eyes. That was the one that she knew was in fact Tony’s son Harry. She had caught him staring at a picture of the baby one day in his office, and Tony had told her what Howard had done, and what Tony had done to protect the child from Howard. 

The other boy though, he was a mystery. Curly, darkish brown hair, hazel eyes filled with wonder and fear. 

“Hi, I’m Pepper,” she kneeled down to their level. “I need you buys to stick close to me okay. What are your names?”

“Harry Potter, ma’am.”

“Peter Parker, ma’am.”

She smiled at both of them. “We should probably head over to where to computer are and see if we can hack some systems and help Tony out . . . are you two good at computers?”

Peter nodded enthusiastically, reaching up to take her offered hand. Harry just shrugged his shoulders, not really answering the question, taking Pepper’s other hand.

She held the boys hands tight, running into Natasha who had come to the Expo hearing about the Hammeroids. 

“Pepper, it looks like the boys could use some help,” Nat said stepping up wearing a fairly nice dress. She had plans, but apparently plans could change quickly. 

Pepper placed the boys behind her approaching Hammer, the sleazy scum bag.

“He’s locked us out of the mainframe.” Pepper overheard. Damn it Hammer.

“Boys, sit on the stairs while me and Nat handle this okay,” Pepper command the boys softly. “The police have been notified and security is already on their way. I promise you two that we will get out of this safely.” 

Pepper turned her attention to Hammer. “Who locked you out of the mainframe, what do you know about this?”

“Step aside sweetheart. I’ve got this under control,” Hammer said snidely, staring at the screens. 

Pepper rolled her eyes, this guy really was something special. Before she could step in and knee him in the balls, Natasha pushed his head into the console.

“Wicked . . .” 

Pepper smirked as she heard the boys whispering behind her.   
“Where is he?” Nat demanded.

“I don’t know who you are talking about . . .”

“Don’t play stupid,” she applied more pressure on the man. “Where is he?”

“At my facility.” 

Natasha slammed the man lightly into the console, causing him to groan a little. “Whimp,” Nat sighed out. “I’m going to go track to Vanko. See what you can do here remotely.”

“She’s badass,” Peter fanboyed, all the while thanking his lucky stars he worked up the nerve to talk to Harry at the robotics display.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony took off, flying thought the skies trying to avoid as many civilians as possible. Looking down, he saw a kid standing all alone, getting ready to take on the Hammeroid. No . . .

Landing quickly, he shot the bot, giving the kid a quick assurance, hoping that the kids parents would be by soon. The kid was the same size Harry would have been, maybe even a little younger. Tony quickly shook those thoughts to the side and focused. Right now, his best friend was trying to kill him . . . not really, but it still felt like it. If he hadn’t just flown away with his armor then all this would have been avoided, or at least mostly avoided. 

“Tony, there are multiples coming in on you,” Rhodey warned looking at his HUD.

“Let’s get this away from the Expo. It’s too crowded down there.” 

Tony continued to maneuver, leading the droids and Rhodey away from the Expo, making the droids hit different pieces of architecture to knock them out.

“Tony, I’m closing in on you, coming in hot.”

Tony minutely shrugged, maneuver around Rhodey’s shots. He needed to get to the Expo again and take care of the droids that had just peeled off. Tony knew that he didn’t wan to head back there, but needed to protect the people down below. 

“Are you still locked on?” Tony asked, knowing that Rhodes probably still was. He did design the tracking and locking system on the suit, and those systems were damn near perfect.

“Yeah . . .”

“Drop your socks and grab your Crocs. We’re about to get wet on this ride,” Tony warned him, calculating all possible ways to take out as many drones as possible. The globe, perfect.

He needed to thin them out and quick. Just when he thought he was in the clear, something hit him from the side and he went crashing down into the indoor gardens that Pepper had designed for the Expo. 

Damn that hurt.

The War Machine armor was right on top of him, firing wildly at him. Tony grabbed on to the gun, redirecting the shots. There was short break, and that is all that Tony needed to flip his friend off of him.

“Reboot complete. You got your best friend back,” A familiar voice came over the comms. Tony sighed in relief.

“Thank you very much, Agent Romanoff.”

“Congratulations on the new chest piece. I’m reading higher output and your vitals all look promising,” Natasha told him reading the information she was being provided remotely. His vitals were definitely improved.

“Yes for the minute I’m not dying. Thank you,” Tony snarked back. Truth be told, he was a little worn out from the previous fight, but all in all he was feeling significantly better then he did before.

“What do you mean? Did you say you’re dying?” Pepper quipped back on the comms.

What was Pepper doing on the comms?

“I was dying, I’m not anymore.”

“Glad to hear that,” Steve chimed in. “I was worried about you for a while.”

“Thanks Cap,” Tony said honestly. 

“What’s going on?” Pepper sounded frantic. Tony knew he needed to defuse this quickly.

“I was going to tell you . . .”

“Were you . . .”

“You didn’t let me,” Tony butted back in. “I was going to make you an omelet and tell you . . .”

Natasha heard Steve sigh over the comms, directing panicked people where to go to get to safety. 

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not dying. I re-discovered a new element that Dad apparently had discovered for me, found out that he actually cared somewhat for me, and then using a particle accelerator, synthesized the new element, popped into my chest, got a rush better then any drug I could take, and then came here to save your life when I found out Vanko was working for Hammer. I’m sorry, I’ve been a bit busy the last couple of weeks.”

“You and me both,” Steve sighed, wondering if he should tell Tony over the comms about Harry being at the Expo, but then decided against it for the moment. Some things are better to do in person. “Pepper, how are the boys?”

“Hey guys, you need to save it. There is something coming in hot right at you Tony,” Natasha interrupted, basically cutting off the conversation for now. They needed to focus, the threat wasn’t gone yet. Amateurs.

“I’m coming to help,” Steve told them quickly. The civilian situation was under control and the boys were still safe with Pepper. His teammate needed him, and he wasn’t going to lose another. He still felt the loss of Bucky acutely.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The battle waged, but eventually Tony and Rhodey came out victorious over Hammeroids. Just when they thought the worse was over Vanko landed with a booming thud. Tony closed his helmet quickly praying that Steve would stay away at this point. Vanko was out for his blood right now, and the world needed Captain America right now.

“Good to be back,” Vanko’s thick accent cut through the war torn silence. 

“This ain’t going to be good,” James sighed, pulling out the ex-wife, only to watch it come up short. 

Tony quickly analyzed the weak spots, but Vanko was quick and on the move, throwing around James and Tony like they were rag dolls. 

Tony looked around and saw Steve dressed in standard civilian clothes, and a shield in his possession. He threw the shield and hit Vanko, but with the enormous bulk of the armor, it didn’t even make Vanko flinch. He blew a blast toward Steve causing Steve to fly back, being knocked out cold.

Fuck.

Tony felt the whips tighten around him, the electricity crackling. Then, a brilliant plan came to mind. Not that all of his plans weren’t brilliant, thank you very much.

“Wanna be a hero?” Tony yelled out to Rhodey.

“This can’t be your plan.”

“It’s the best I got at the moment. I could really use a side kick. Put your hand up!”

“Go, go!”

The repulsors whined, Tony directing the blast toward Vanko. With a great, hardy blast, the threat was neutralized.

Tony got up, feeling worn out and tired. He really needed to rest. It had been a long couple of months in between telling Steve about Harry, the invasion of New York, dying, and the Expo. He could officially say he wanted to go on vacation.

Maybe Rome. Maybe England. His mother had several properties in both those countries, both mundane and magical. 

He got up and walked over to Steve, hearing him groan and helping him up. “Man that prop shield really is ineffective,” Steve muttered. And he kept on muttering about figuring out a way to call the shield to him when he didn’t have it on his person.

“Prop shield?” Tony asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Yeah, I was with the boys when the attack started. Peter told me about the shield in the exhibit hall, so we ran over and got it.”

“Boys . . .”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign that he was nervous about something. 

“Steve what did you do?” Tony’s voice was low and guarded.

“Harry is here at the Expo,” Steve rushed out. “He and Peter, his friend, are with Pepper right now in the Tech Talk area.”

“Guys . . . not wanting to interrupt or anything but . . .” Rhodey sounded unsure at he moment.

Vanko looked up at them from the position on the ground. “You lose.”

Beeping proceeded to follow, all the droids were going to explode. Harry . . . Pepper. 

“We have got to get out of here.” Rhodes picked up Steve and took off; Tony took off flying straight toward the Tech Talk area. He needed to get to Harry and to Pepper. All around him drones started to explode, giving Tony a sinking feeling in his gut.

He heard Steve over the comms starting to pray, begging Rhodey to go faster. But deep down Tony knew that they were too late. The dust from the explosions was already settling.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The police came and arrested Hammer and it seemed as if the chaos was contained. The Expo was officially a mess, but they could come back from it. They were of course Stark Industries. They could bounce back from anything. The boys followed behind her, talking quickly about how cool the night had been. 

Cool would not have been the word that Pepper would have used to describe the night.

She had wanted one of the officers to take the boys back to the penthouse, but didn’t want them to allocate their resources to a taxi service. Plus, Pepper didn’t quite know who Peter was yet and where his family was.

The beeping had started, causing Pepper to break out of her thoughts. They were surrounded by these things and they were going to blow. Pepper turned and gathered the boys in her arms, turning her back toward the closest robot intending to take the brunt of the impact.

Explosions started all around them, Pepper sucked in a breath waiting to be hit by the shrapnel, praying that the boys would be okay. Holding the both of them protectively in her arms, she waited, only to hear a soft thud next to them.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony hovered for a moment, scanning the area for any signs of life. He sighed in relief seeing a light blue dome surrounding three figures that were huddled together.

Protego Maxium. Who could have called a barrier shield that strong?

He breathed a quick sigh of relief, landing on the ground next to the doom. He retracted the armor, letting it fold back into the suitcase, a little worse for wear.

“Pepper, Harry?” Tony breathed out.

Tony watched as Pepper opened her eyes, looking bewildered at the sight of glowing blue shield around them. 

“Tony?” Her voice was shaky, her body trembling from coming off the adrenaline. “Is this because of you?”

He shook his head, focusing for a minute, feeling a familiar pull toward the boy, boys? Tony cocked his head to side, glancing at the child he knew was Harry Potter. Harry’s bright blue eyes were staring straight at him, almost in recognition of him. The other child one not familiar to his eyes, but was familiar to his heart. He remembered his mom telling him about familial magic. A parent will never forget their child. They could be separated for years, but their heart will always tell them who their child was.

It was almost as if Maria Stark knew. But, then again now that he was thinking on it, it wasn’t surprising at all. Maria’s great aunt Cassiopeia Black had the gift of sight. 

“Tony? Is Harry and Peter okay?” Steve ran up, his eyes landing on the blue dome shield around Pepper and the boys. He fell to his knees, thanking God that they were okay.

Tony continued to focus, figuring out that each boy had shot up a shield in defense. 

“Hey Kiddies, feeling a little scared?” Tony said, dropping to his knees, his hand touching the shield.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use it!” Harry exclaimed.

“Sometimes strange things happen . . .” The boy, who now Tony knew as Peter started to talk.

“It is okay boys, I did the same thing too,” Tony told both of them. “But I need both of you to calm down. It’s going to drain both of you, and fast if you keep it up longer. It is a really strong shield you both threw up. I can already tell that both of you are tired.”

Harry looked to Steve. “It’s okay Harry. It’s okay Peter, the danger has passed. Tony took care of all the bad guys this time. All I did was lay around.”

Tony chuckled slightly.

“I don’t know how to drop it,” Peter admitted. 

Tony felt Harry drop his, leaning into Pepper. The magic had taken it out of him. Peter though was holding his steady, probably in a panic.

“Peter, listen to my voice,” Tony told him. “Everything is okay. Nothing will happen to you. You need to close your eyes and try to call your magic back.”

Peter though was in a panic. 

“Son, please. I don’t want to cancel the spell because it will cause you to go into magical exhaustion,” Tony tried to explain, but he knew that it was futile. Peter was too panicked and the magic was strong and dangerous, swirling up around them. 

Pepper looked panicked.

Harry looked on in awe.

Steve looked a little unsure of the situation.

Rhodey was gob smacked. He knew that Tony possessed magic, but had never seen his friend yield it.

“Familia inritaum,” Tony intoned, flicking out is aspen and phoenix feather wand, the slightly blue dome dropping. He rushed forward to Pepper and the boys, his tiredness momentarily forgotten. 

Tony gathered Harry first in his arms, holding the child he never thought he would hold again. He breathed in Harry’s hair, like he used to do when the child was 2 months old, his lingering scent that uniquely was Harry was still there, bringing back a rush of memories. His boy was home. But how and why? Where were James and Lily?

All questions that needed answers, but right now, it was late.

“Dad?” Harry whispered, “I thought it was all a dream.”

Tony was uncharacteristically quiet. “We will talk more, soon, I promise. But not here. There are too many laws, and we just broke about a dozen of them using magic out in the open. We need to go.”

Tony looked over at Steve, his blue eyes trained on the two of them. Steve was currently holding the smaller of the two boys who was passed out due to magical exhaustion. He went over and took Peter from him, allowing Steve to hug Harry to him as well. Steve was Harry’s other biological parent . . . 

And where did Peter fit into all this?

God, this was such a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it. Drop me a comment, give me encouragement. 
> 
> I have started an Fanfiction Community Page on Facebook for people to pimp out their fics, drop recommendations, help find lost fics that they loved, or in general just discuss things that happened within the Marvel Universe. There are so many for Harry Potter, but barely any for Avengers/Marvel. Join me if you like.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/349089165963449/


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At home at last.

Chapter Nine:

It started with a whimper.

Tony remembered that his mother once told him that once you became a parent that you never slept again, not that Tony ever really slept. He had always been a night owl, needing less sleep then the average person, but normally he just chalked it up to being a genius and his brain not having an off mode.

Tony’s father always ignored whimpers. Howard never answered the cries of Grant, now Harry, when he was a newborn. Tony had tried to ignore them as well, but knew that he had never wanted to be anything like his dad. He wanted to be caring, and nurturing, and he remembered the promise that he made to the small newborn when Howard had brought him back from getting his blood drawn . . . that he would be there when he needed him. That he would keep him safe, no matter the cost. 

Tony didn’t want to ignore the whimpers. Harry was here, back with him again. And Peter . . . Peter was still completely magically exhausted and they had no clue about where the boy belonged.

But Tony had a feeling, but that was it, just a feeling.

Tony walked quietly into the room, noting Harry thrashing around in the bed. He figured it had to be Harry because Peter was still out cold from using defensive magic for so long. Steve was trying to get rouse Harry, but nothing was working.

“Sorry, I was trying to calm him so he didn’t wake you. He has some wicked nightmares, ” Steve commented. “You looked pretty out of it and that you could use some rest. I don’t think I have ever seen you look this tired before.”

“Doing magic drains me a bit,” Tony admitted. “It never used to, but with all the damage that my body had sustained, it hurts because of what happened in Afghanistan. Magic is like a muscle though, if you exercise it, the less draining it becomes and the more power you can draw before getting tired. The boys seem to be pretty powerful.”

Steve hummed.

“You are looking a little worse of wear too,” Tony told his team mate. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, something that wasn’t expected of Captain America. Tony sat on the bed, feeling it dip. “He had a full head of hair when he was a baby. He used to like carding your fingers through his hair.”

Tony watched Steve try to calm down their son as he cast a monitoring charm on Peter to check his magical core. It was exhausted as Tony thought, and he was hoping that Peter hadn’t caused too much damage to it using the protego maxima charm. 

He cast the charm again on Harry, ignoring the uncomfortable ache he got in his chest from him using magic. Harry’s was low, but numbers were rebounding quickly.

“How bad was it for him?” Tony asked quietly.

“Bad. James and Lily have been gone for the last 6 years. Killed in a car accident according to the obituary.”

“James and Lily didn’t own a car,” Tony frowned. “Where has Harry been? Why wasn’t I notified. I was supposed to be notified if something happened to them.”

“I don’t know, I don’t have the answers. But we have him now,” Steve answered. Harry seemingly calmed down, and was resting peacefully.

“You know, my mom always said parents should sleep when their kids sleep,” Tony advised. “I have a feeling I will need some rest to hear wheat happened. You should try to get some too. There is a spare room next to them. We can talk as soon as we get at least two hours of sleep. We have a lot to talk about.”

Steve nodded, allowing the tiredness to seep into his bones. Instead of going to the spare room though, he just grabbed a pillow from the bed there and camped out in the boys’ room. He didn’t want to be too far away from them.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony tried to go to sleep, and maybe succeeded in getting maybe two hours . . . maybe, and JARVIS had just informed him that it was nearing 7. It was kind of hard to sleep when two little boys were sleeping down the hall with Captain America keeping watch over them. One of the two little boys just happened to be the baby that he gave up 8 years previous, and the other . . . he felt like he knew, but Tony wasn’t aware of any other children.

Deciding that he couldn’t sleep, he got up, making his way toward the music room. He needed to start planning, to figure out what he needed go from here. 

He padded through the halls, his gray sweatpants low on his waist and the arc reactor providing the light through the dim halls. He turned toward the piano, deciding to play The Scientist, singing lowly to get his thoughts in order. The song seemed eerily appropriate, and he used to play it for Harry all the time when he couldn’t get him down to sleep.

“Coldplay,” Steve said as he walked through the door. “It was on one of the playlists that were suggested to me when I came out of the ice.”

“I used to sing it to Harry . . . I’m a Scientist, he was a baby with no understanding of words or meanings, but it used to sooth him. How are the boys?”

“Still out like a light,” Steve informed him. “I’m guessing due to them using magic?”

“Yep,” Tony replied popping the P. “The shield charm in its maxima form, is one of the strongest shield that someone can produce. Not many children can produce it, hell not many adults can produce it.”

“Can you?” Steve asked, genuinely curious, and wondering why Tony doesn’t use magic in battle, and why he didn’t use it when he was in Afghanistan.

“I can,” Tony stated. “Magic, and what we can produce, runs along magical bloodlines. Some are stronger then others. Mom’s bloodline comes from the Black bloodline. Mom was the daughter of Alphard Black, who had married an Italian witch named Guiliana. Grandfather was always one of the best, but his family was dark . . . as dark as the name implies. But, the family wasn’t always that way and is strong historically in defensive magic, which includes shields. The Potter family, the family that Harry was adopted into was also known for defensive magic.”

Steve hummed, taking in the history.

“Mom was a strong witch, but technology and magic doesn’t always work well together, and so she never really practiced much, even after I figured out a way to make the two mesh well. I was 18 when I graduated from Salem’s Institute, and had hoped after I finished MIT that Dad and I could start creating things again, together since I figured out the work around. That is when Dad started acting more weird, more indifferent. Then one day, I find myself strapped up to a table, being violated and forced to carry a kid.” 

“Tony, I am so sorry . . .”

“I can’t figure it out. My dad was an ass on good days, but he was not unethical like that. Seeing the video he made, telling me I was his greatest creation, well it made me think. Something had to happen to Howard, right?” 

Steve didn’t say anything, allowing the genius to just talk it out as he was playing something on the piano. 

“Anyway, enough with me,” Tony said, effectively cutting off his rant. He got up, and walked over to the bar in the music room and quickly poured himself some water. “Why is Harry here? You said he was perfect, fine.”

Steve was silent for a minute. “I said he was perfect, and he is. James and Lily died 7 years ago, James had no living relatives . . .”

“No brothers or sisters, but plenty of cousins, second cousins, hell me . . .”

“They went through the maternal line though, and he was living with Lily’s sister Petunia. Tony . . . I wish I could tell you that he was loved and cared for . . .”

Tony swallowed hard. He had given Harry up for a chance to have parents that loved him. Only fate was a bitch and didn’t even allow his son to grow up happy and loved. 

“They kept him in a cupboard under the stairs, would starve him, beat him, they were grooming him. There was a room that had writing on the walls where Harry had to do lines when he was bad,” Steve stated, reciting what Clint had told him. “I couldn’t . . . wouldn’t have left him there, even if he wasn’t ours. They were the worst people. I have had him for the past two week though, and seems to be pushing though the abuse that the Dursleys rained on him. He is perfect though, and even though his family wasn’t the greatest we are here for him now.”

“He was supposed to come back to me if something happened to them. What the fuck happened? Where did he get that scar from? When I saw him on his first birthday, he didn’t have that scar.” Tony was seething and coming up with a plan to destroy the Dursleys at the same time. It would be glorious.

“Harry thinks it was from the car accident that killed James and Lily.”

“Couldn’t have been, most of your average wizards don’t use cars to get around.”

“What do they use, brooms?” Steve questioned.

Tony just gave him a side eye. “Yeah,” he responded as he continued to play. “Most of use though prefer apparition, but there are other ways.”

“Apparition?”

“Disappearing and reappearing where you want to go, there are limitations. And some countries strictly forbid it. It would strip your magic and you will be instantly killed for trying it. Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, most of the middle Eastern countries.”

“That explains why you couldn’t get out of the cave . . .”

Tony nodded. He would have done it as a last ditch attempt though if the Iron Man armor hadn’t worked.

“Peter?”

“What about him?” Steve asked.

“What do you know about him?”

“Not much,” Steve admitted. “Harry was playing at the interactive robotics display, and there Peter was. They struck up a conversation, started working together. Peter is an orphan, lives in a group home. He snuck into the Expo.”

Tony smiled at that one. 

“I suppose I could take him to the goblins to have them run a heritage test, maybe see if we can find some living relatives to take him,” Tony said. 

“We should take him in,” Steve said. “I feel like that is something that drew the boys in together. They should be raised together.”

Tony stopped playing and swiveled around looking at his teammate. 

“We shouldn’t even be taking in Harry! Let alone trying to build a happy family.”

“He’s our son!”

Tony brought his hand up and scrubbed it across his face. “We are Avengers. Our life puts a target on his back, on our backs. MY sons did not sign up for it.”

“Sons?”

“Son, did not sing up for it,” Tony corrected himself quickly. “I took him to Lily and James to give him a better life!”

“And look how well that turned out, abused, neglected, being groomed . . . his relative threatened to sell him this summer. He’s going to be eight.”

A glass dropped to the ground, and Tony fell to his knees. 

“I failed as a father. I tried my best to keep him safe, and I failed.”

“You did what was best at the time,” Steve soothed, sitting next to him friend. “You tried to protect him, you kept him away from your dad . . . you knew that Howard was hurting him, and you got him to safety. That is what a father does. We . . . you and me and the team . . . will step up now and figure out how to help Harry and Peter.”

“I don’t know . . .” The genius muttered, and for the first time in forever, Tony felt completely at a loss. “I can’t loose him again.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Harry woke, looking at the room around him. He was vaguely aware of Tony tucking him in, it felt like a dream, only it must have been a memory. Tony arm’s cradling him felt too familiar, Tony breathing in his hair was not a dream. Tony was his dad.

But Steve had confirmed that he was his dad.

Harry was confused.

Harry looked over to Peter who was still in a deep sleep, not stirring. He had wished Peter was awake so he could talk to him and sort out his feelings. It was nice having someone who was close to his age to talk to, someone who did the same things he could do.

He wasn’t alone in the world anymore.

Harry looked down at his hands, not knowing what to do. If he was back at the Dursley’s he would have started breakfast. Maybe that was what he should do. He and Steve had been going to local diners at the hotel, but since this was his home, maybe it was time to get back into his routine.

Harry started padding through the hall looking for the kitchen. He found it fairly easily, sleek and modern, no expense was spared when this kitchen was designed. Harry poked around trying to find the whisk and spatula. When he went out with Steve, he often ordered eggs, so Harry figured that he would make his father some eggs, and the rest of the people there.

“I wonder how many people are there that I need to make eggs for,” Harry mused aloud.

“Seven,” a disembodied voice answered. 

Harry almost dropped the eggs, but years of catching himself made him right himself quickly.

“I am sorry for startling you, young sir. There are seven people currently housed here, more when all of the Avengers are in town. I am JARVIS, I am and AI. I help sir with the running of the house and his life.”

Harry nodded, having read about Tony’s accomplishments with AI and JARVIS. 

“Thank you JARVIS. I am Harry.”

Harry turned on the stove, quickly whisking the eggs and adding cheese meats and vegetables. He also cut up some fruit he found on the counter, and set the table. 

“JARVIS . . .” Harry heard a voice as he finished platting up the loaded scrambled eggs. “Who ordered breakfast?”

“Young sir made breakfast,” the AI informed his creator.

Tony’s eyes swept the kitchen, his eyes landing on the small child in the dining area. Harry was working quickly and efficiently, as though he had been doing this for years. 

“Hey kiddie,” Tony started, catching the kids’s attention, causing him to drop a bowl of fruit. The bowl shattered at his feet, causing the kid to wince. He fell to the ground immediately , attempting to pick up the pieces.

“Harrison James, don’t continue,” Tony said sternly. “I don’t want you to cut yourself.”

He walked over to his son, and picked him up deftly, noticing the lack of weight on his kid. Another thing that the Dursleys were going to pay for.

“I made a mess,” Harry said, still attempting to clean. “Please don’t hit me.”

“Never,” Tony replied instantly, looking him over for injuries. He found a small cut on his son’s finger. He walked over, grabbing a small bottle of Neosporin and a bandaid. He could have fixed it with magic, but was still healing himself. “I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean for all of this to happen. I had meant to order breakfast, and come wake you. I’m sorry for startling you.”

Harry looked up confused. Steve had said he was his father, but here Tony evoking feelings and emotions that he had never felt before, or had he.

“I know you are confused. But, do you believe in magic?” Tony lead in, helping his son off the counter once one of the bots had finished clearing the mess on the floor.

“I’m not allowed to use that word. Worthless freaks aren’t allowed to speak unless spoken to, magic is forbidden . . .” Harry started with the litany that came out almost like a prayer.

“Well there are no worthless freaks here,” Tony hushed the child softly. He caught Steve out of the corner of his eye, Steve’s body rigid and taunt, like he was getting ready to wage battle.

This would be different type of battle. Just as Tony was getting ready to 

There were a couple of raps on the door.

“JARVIS?”

“I’m sorry sir, there is a lot of interference right now. I couldn’t stop the elevator.”

Tony closed his eyes. Fuck. MACUSA showed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt9L1jCKGnE&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3tWwKNVTpq5q4GKw5-nWqXz2PX_Vss8kJ3R4Q-YOoqBadE3mu13o48Z-0
> 
> Spiderman Trailer. Looks so good. Do not watch if you haven't seen Endgame yet.
> 
> Leave me some comments or kudos. I thrive off of them.


	11. Chapter 10: MACUSA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MACUSA comes knocking. Peter and Tony bonding. Harry and Tony bonding. Fluff mostly, but needed fluff and family building.

Chapter Ten: MACUSA

The Magical Congress of the United States of America was not something that Tony wanted to deal with right now. MACUSA had been coming along with the times, and worked closely with Tony as he was a well known face in the no-mag world with him being, well Tony Stark, but Tony actually hacked many of the security cameras erasing any knowledge of magic off the electronic grid and internet.

It worked out well, for the most part. It helped keep the lines of communication open, but also protected the magic users of the USA. 

“Tony, what is going on?”

“MACUSA, the governing board of magic users,” Tony replied, while handing Harry over to Steve. Just in case it got difficult he wanted Steve to run while he held them off. 

Steve caught the slight flick of Tony’s wrist, watching as his teammate, friend, co-parent, making sure his wand was in place.

“Probably picked up on the boys’ accidental outburst and traced it back to the Expo. I routinely swipe the servers and they probably want to make sure that I did yesterday.”

The elevator door opened, revealing some oddly dressed people.

“Joyce, Archer, and Seraphina, blending in as always,” Tony greeted the people. Luckily MACUSA sent people who at least tried to keep up with no-mag style, and people that Tony routinely dealt with. Hell, Seraphina was a year ahead of him at Salems, and he “dated” Joyce for a couple of months. 

“Let me introduce you guys to Captain America, or as we call him, Capsicle. JARVIS, you good bud?”

“Fine sir, functioning as needed even though there are energy spikes.” Tony nodded, figuring that JARVIS would be able to sustain with the extra people in the tower.

“You guys can call me Steve,” he interjected. 

“Anthony, you know the penalties about exposing our world to a no-mag . . .” Seraphina started.

“I didn’t expose him, he already knew. SHIELD and the US government gave all of their high ranking officials clearance to know,” Tony said flippantly. “I believe that all Avengers have clearance as well, especially living in a tower that registered for both magic uses and no-mag people to dwell.” Tony reached out his hand, and a piece of parchment flew to him. He handed it to Joyce. “Joyce, long-time no see.”

She smiled as Tony kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve missed your wit Anthony.” She eyeballed the document knowing that Tony had already registered the tower appropriately. “I saw the fight last night, and was glad to see that you haven’t lost your combat skills.”

Steve cocked up an eyebrow, listening in to the conversation while keeping Harry perched on his hip.

“Once a dueling champ, always a dueling champ. Plus, with Dad being a weapons developer, you got to know you way around targets and how to aim and shoot,” Tony replied quickly. “Plus, occupational hazard, you know, being a technological super hero.”

The man, who was oddly silent piped up. “There were several displays of magical outburst last night at the Expo.”

“Accidental, it seems,” Seraphina said, eyeballing Harry and Steve. “Powerful though. The servers were wiped, but we traced the magic back here. It wasn’t you, but you did cast a spell last night.”

“Magic is not real,” A tiny voice said. Harry was hiding in Steve’s shoulder.

Tony softened, reaching for Harry, figuring it wasn’t going to turn ugly, being thankful that they were becoming more progressive.

“Magic is science we haven’t figured out a way to explain yet. My son had a bought of accidental magic last night, produce the protego maxima to protect Pepper from a bomb.”

“There were two,” Joyce pressed.

“Another boy was there, Peter. Harry had met him at the Expo, and they clicked. Apparently Peter is a magic user as well.”

“We traced his signature here,” Seraphina pointed out. “And what spell did you use?”

“Peter couldn’t drop the shield, and was rapidly draining his core. I used the familia inritaum to call his magic back to his core. He is here until we can find his parents.”

Seraphina chuckled. “You really didn’t pay attention in magical theory did you.”

“Used it mostly to nap and do my college physics,” Tony rolled his eyes. “What’s the point Sera? I know you got your NEWT in it.”

“How you achieved your NEWT in it, I don’t know.”

“Eidetic memory.”

“Then Tony,” Sera used his nickname, not something common in the Wizarding world who still loved their pomp and circumstance, “Tell me why you could use the spell?”

He shrugged his shoulders. 

Archer was sympathetic to the man who was well a well known playboy in both worlds, but the bomb needed to be dropped. 

“Only a parent or head of house can use it,” Archer finally said, hearing Steve gasp. “Who is the head of house on your mother’s side?”

“Arcturus Black died years ago,” Tony said. The three looked stunned, realizing that Tony came from the dark house. “It would have gone to Sirius. Where is he?”

“Padfoot!” Harry piped up again.

Tony smiled, remembering his friends form, and rightfully stunned that Harry remembered it. If Steve was telling the truth, Harry would have had no contact since the Petunia he remember Lily talking about would have kept her family as mundane as possible.

“Azkaban,” Seraphina supplied. “We need to catch you up on the last 7-8 years.” She eyed Harry again. “But first, we need to figure out Peter.”

“He’s an orphan like me,” Harry said. 

Steve looked up from cleaning up the uneaten breakfast. “His parents died in a plane crash.”

“Obviously not both of them,” Joyce replied. “Anthony, the only way you would have been able to use that spell is if you were Peter’s father.”

Tony sighed, he had known it the minute he laid eyes on the kid, but to hear someone say it out loud made it real. 

“He can’t go back to foster care now, and needs to be placed in a magical home . . .”

“He’ll stay with me as soon as we have the mundane and magical paperwork filed, and as soon as I run DNA.” Tony said. As progressive as they were, there was a shit load of paperwork to file, and the lawyers would need a DNA test to add Peter to the will. “I won’t let any son of mine stay in the system. We should also run a test on him to find out who his mother was.”

“You are a carrier, aren’t you?” Archer asked.

“Yes, but only carried one . . .” Tony supplied, looking at Harry with Steve. 

Harry, who was an abnormally smart boy, put all the pieces together. 

“James and Lily adopted me, I wasn’t really their son.” Harry had thought at least Lily was his mother, but it turned out she wasn’t.

“James and Lily Potter loved you, I put you there to protect you,” Tony told him. “My dad wasn’t the best of men Harry, and he was hurting you. I needed to get you away from him. But in the magical world, two men can have a child together. You, Harrison James Anthony Potter were born Grant Howard Stark.”

“Shit, Harry Potter is your son?” Archer said.

Seraphina laughed. “Only you Tony.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you are in for a history lesson, but maybe after breakfast we can catch you up.” Seraphina flicked out her wand and had the kitchen start a breakfast. She pulled Tony off to the side. “You may not want Harry to hear this yet, it’s his history, and you may want to tell him yourself. Send him out with the Captain for a little bit, have them get what you need to raise some boys. I dare say your penthouse probably isn’t set up for children.”

Tony nodded, taking Seraphina’s advice to heart. She after all was one of his closest friends and had never steered him wrong before.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tony watched as the three magical beings left the tower, trying to digest the information that he was just told. His son was apparently the savior of the British Wizarding World, that his adoptive parents were murdered and that some bastard, with a weird name that literally meant flight from death, tried to kill his baby.

That scar . . . not from a car crash . . . but from the fucking killing curse.

He sent Harry away to save him from harm, and instead he put his kid right into harm’s way. 

What kind of father was he?

Apparently the type that had children and didn’t know that they existed and apparently the type of father who allowed madmen to fire killing curses at his baby. The type of father who allowed their kid to languish in the system and have killing bots fire at them. Thank God he got there in time. He had seen the familiar shirt and Iron Man mask near the boy last night and had put two and two together.

He was worse then Howard.

“JARVIS, search all of Obi’s servers and check for anything that may have been sent to me or him to let him know that I fathered Peter.”

“Commencing search.”

Tony walked down to the guest suit, which he now supposed that he would turn into one of their rooms. He would allow them to pick whatever rooms they wanted whenever they got settled.

The room was dark, despite it being close to noon. 

He looked down at his son, studying the child closely, something he remembered doing when Harry was first born. Both boys had his build, lean and small, but with the ability to be strong. He had hit his growth spurt when he was a teenager, and though he wasn’t still a towering figure, he was a respectable height. He wondered how the serum would affect Harry.

Harry had straight, black, unruly hair, a trait that came from his grandfather, Arcturus Black, a shade darker then his own. Peter’s hair was a shade lighter then Tony’s, a dark brown with a slight curl to it. Tony’s hair had a slight curl as well. 

Harry had inherited Steve’s blue eyes with flecks of green. Peter, though his eyes hadn’t been open since he wore himself out at the Expo, Tony had seen a familiar shade of brown. Looking at the boy, he didn’t need magic to tell him, but Peter’s was his. He would have a DNA test ran and a magical genealogy test ran though so he could file all the papers the right way.

There was no way Peter was going back into the system.

“JARVIS, send an email to CPS, inform them of my status to Peter so I can get the ball rolling to obtain custody.”

“Right away sir.”

Peter started stirring, his eyes slowly blinking open. 

Tony watched as his son sat straight up. “I have to get back to Andrea’s. Skip is going to kill me. I have chores I have to get too . . .”

Tony’s heart clenched. Both of his boys had to deal with circumstances that no one should have. He made a mental note to get both of the boys started with a therapist.

The irony.

“No chores Peter,” Tony told him quietly. He reached out, brushing the curls out of his face. Peter was abnormally hot.

“JARVIS, scan him . . .”

“101.5. Protocol states to give the boy some fever reducer.”

“Kinda don’t have that in the penthouse. Order some.” Tony looked down at his son, his cheeks were ruddy, and he looked miserable. “Want to move to the couch? I think I can whip you up some chicken soup.”

“I can do it, but I need to get back to the group home. I’m gonna get it good,” Peter mumbled, looking miserable. 

Tony hummed, scooping the kid up in his arms. There was going to be no good time to tell Peter this, so . . .

“You aren’t going back to the group home, at least not if I can help it,” Tony told him. “You are going to stay here with me.”

Peter just looked at him, getting a warm feeling encompassing him. Tony’s magic was calling out to his son, wrapping him up, promising protection. Peter’s core, though healing responded to the call.

“You’re my dad . . .”

“Yeah, I am,” Tony admitted softly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. But now that I do, I will protect you and Harry for as long as I have breath in my body.”

He felt Peter clutch him tighter, as if he was trying to hold on to Tony with all of his might. He arranged pillows and blankets around Peter, pulling up an animated version of Star Wars on Disney for Peter to watch as he started a light lunch for himself and Peter. He text Steve to let him know that it was alright to come back to the Tower. The two men had things they needed to discuss, figure out, and plan with regards to Harry. 

He pulled up Amazon, showing Peter different shirts with science puns and bands on them, throwing them into his cart and setting up delivery for same day. He also ordered double for Harry, knowing that Steve was probably picking up polos and khakis. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tony placed Peter back in his bed, after arranging meetings with his social worker in the morning. Tony turned and looked at Harry, who was shuffling from foot to foot. Steve had gotten called away to deal with a small disturbance near Queens, leaving Tony with tuck in duty that night.

“Ready for a shower kiddo?” Tony asked, shifting his attention to his other son. He still didn’t know who was the older of the two.

“How much?” Harry questioned, staring at his feet.

“Um . . . showers are free.”

“No, how much hot water am I allowed to use? It didn’t matter at the hotel because Steve didn’t pay the water bill . . .”

“As much as you want buddy,” Tony sighed. He lead Harry to where they kept the towels. “This is your home, you are safe and wanted here. I’m sorry, I didn’t know, otherwise you would have came home with me. How about you get a shower . . . one as long as you want . . . get into some pajamas. I’ll do the same, and then me and you need to talk, okay. Nothing bad.” Tony told him, trying to settle the child down.

Harry nodded, grabbing a towel, making his way to the shower. “The shower can be voice controlled by JARVIS, if you need the water hotter or cooler, JARVIS can do that for you.”

Tony sighed, making his way into the bedroom, trying to figure out how he was going to make it up to his sons.

Feeling refreshed, Tony walked into the living room, seeing Harry sitting on the sofa, looking really unsure of himself. 

“Do you want me to make you some tea? Your grandmother, Maria, she could make the best tea ever.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Harry answered, his voice small and unsure. 

“You are never a bother to me,” Tony answered starting the kettle. Harry had followed him into the kitchen and was sitting at the island. “I know you have a thousand questions. If you are anything like me, and the reports that Clint sent me makes me believe you are more like me then Steve, then I know you have questions. Ask away.”

Harry was quiet. Years of being told not to questions, years of being ignored, and not having a voice does take a toll on young minds.

Tony took pity on him. “I was 19 when you were born. You know we have magic, and magic always for wonderful things to happen. It means that men can have children together . . .” Tony took a little bit trying to gather his thoughts, shield his son from finding out the horrors that he faced that resulted in his conception. “Your grandfather was a visionary, and he convinced me to carry you. Steve was in the ice and thought to be dead, but your grandfather didn’t want his legacy to end.”

Tony placed the cup of not so hot, but just right tea in front of Harry, handing him some milk and sugar. 

“Howard loved you the minute you were born,” Tony smiled. That was true, Howard adored Harry. Howard did love Tony too, something had happened, something that Tony needed to get to the bottom of, but his sons needed him right now. 

“I loved you the minute you were born, I swore to protect you. You were small, and early. Male pregnancies only last for 8 months. But, dad got sick, and forgot his ethics and morals. He started hurting you, and I had to get you away from him. I would have ran with you myself, but my face is too well known. James and Lily were magic friends of mine, we met years before. I placed you with them, and you were safe and loved. I didn’t know what happened to them. I stopped coming because it was harder to leave you behind. They loved you so much.” Tony rambled out.

“You came to visit . . .” Harry whispered. The dream was not a dream, but a memory. “You would sing to me.”

Tony hummed in acknowledgement.

Harry started to sing The Scientist. “It wasn’t a dream it was as memory. I would hum it late a night in my cupboard and it would lull me to sleep.”

“Speaking of sleep, you look like you are ready to fall asleep. Peter is still recovering somewhat, so I am going to put you in the room across the hall.”

Harry nodded, knowing that he really couldn’t handle staying awake much longer.

“Dad, sing me to sleep?” Harry whispered as Tony placed him in the bed. He felt safe, and warm. Something that he always associated with Steve, that he could now associate with Tony.

“Sure buddy.” Tony took a deep breath and started singing quietly to Harry as he closed his eyes falling asleep, listening to his dad's voice for the first time in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me love and kudos. Comments are much appreciated and rocks my socks.


	12. Chapter 11: DNA doesn't lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Figuring out this parenting thing is hard . . .

Chapter Eleven:

Steve was worn out. Who wouldn’t have been worn out in his situation? In the last six weeks, he had fought off an alien invasion, lead search, rescue, and restoration of SHIELD operations, found out he had a son with a team mate who was dying of poisoning (who thankfully was no longer dying), fought off another villain in Flushings while showing his son and team mate’s other unknown son around the Expo, and now had to stop some low level criminals from stealing some alien tech.

Life was easier in the 40s.

He sighed, looking at the ultra-modern tower that was his new home, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Tony. His legs, like they had a mind of their own, started making him walk through the lobby of the building. There were a million things they needed to iron out together, and they needed to figure out a way for their unique family to work.

Where did he fit in?

Tony had carried Harry, which normally would give Tony more rights to Harry then Steve had,   
and with Harry being magical and Steve not, Tony would definitely have more rights in the magical world then he would.

“Captain Rogers?” JARVIS’s English accent rang through the elevator, “You haven’t given me directions on where you want to go.”

“I need a shower then I need to find Tony,” Steve replied. “Take me to the floor with the armory and gym.”

Steve entered the shower, letting the scalding hot water run down his sore back, hoping to come up with a way to talk with Tony. He didn’t even know how he would start the conversation about where he fit into Harry’s life, and how he was going to broach the fact that he was in fact the custodial parent at this point. Not that it mattered to him. He saw the unique bond that Harry had with Tony almost immediately and it stung a bit. Steve had spent two weeks alone with Harry at in England getting to know the boy, fighting for him, making sure that he had everything he needed. Harry was standoffish, and Steve intellectually understood why. The only parent like figures he had in his life that he could remember had hurt him tremendously. Harry eventually started opening up, and he couldn’t walk away from that now. 

The thought of being separated from his son made him sick with worry, even though it was only one floor away.

He toweled off the remaining drops of water, pulling on a pair of SI sweats and dri-fit shirt that Tony had kept around the gym for his teammates, putting his head in his hands. He was freaking Captain America, there was no reason why he couldn’t have this conversation with Tony. Plucking up the last bit off courage that had, he pulled himself off the bench in search for his co-parent and friend.

Steve didn’t have to search far, he found Tony fairly easily in the armory when he went to go put up his shield. He was testing some arrows that he had made for Clint, watching as Tony took aim with a bow and fired.

Sure, Tony was no Hawkeye but his aim was true as it hit the target. The arrow let off some electrical pulses, catching the target fire. One of Tony’s bots, U (as far as Steve could remember), was standing by with a fire extinguished, quickly putting out the fire.

Tony sighed, putting down the bow. “JARVIS make a note to turn down the amplitude for low level shocks, we want to subdue, not cause villains to explode, unless necessary. Rookie mistake.”

Steve watched as Tony pulled up his Nanny cam, checking on the boys. Harry seemed peacefully asleep, for once . . . Peter was tossing and turning, kicking blankets off. His temperature was still holding steady at 101, not breaking which was concerning. Steve continued to listen as Tony muttered about never ending quivers, potions, and other ideas that the genius’s mind was working frantically with. 

“JARVIS, pull up the renovations for the Penthouse . . .” 

At that point, Steve decided to grab Tony’s attention. 

“Tony . . .”

“Steve, did you just get in? Take a shower already, how was the temperature?”

“It was fine . . . have you rested at all?” Steve looked at the inventor, noticing the dark bags underneath his eyes. “Have you recovered from the attack yet?” Steve knew that Tony was not a superhuman, that he didn’t have advanced healing or anything like that.

“Magic does wonders for healing. Seraphina handed me some potions this morning, helped a bunch, but doesn’t cure it all. I have been up mostly checking on Peter. Apparently it is just a run of the mill cold, but his body just doesn’t seem to like anything that I have tried.”

Steve hummed, acknowledging Tony’s small rant.

“What kind of father am I? I put Harry in harm’s way trying to get him out, and I didn’t even know about the other son. Harry’s lucky that he has you, but Peter, I don’t even know who his mother is. The best I can do is to give the boys bedrooms.”

Steve turned his focus to the hologram that Tony had pointed to.

“I put Peter across from me. Harry next to me, and then you in a room next to him. I combined the music room and library so each room will be a little bit bigger then if I just divided the rooms in half,” Tony mumbled. “I can’t do this alone Steve. Harry is part you, and I know Peter isn’t genetically related to you, but . . .”

Tony’s tirade leveled off for a minute.

Steve looked at the hologram projections, each space was divided with each person having access to their own private bathroom. Tony had included Steve as a part of the family penthouse area, putting in an art and drawing area in the library portion of the mentioned room. He also added a small weight room with some cardio equipment, moving his personal lab down to where Steve’s floor currently was. 

“I didn’t want the boys to have easy access to the lab and potions room. I also wanted you to be comfortable, but as JARVIS pointed out, I needed to run this by you. We are parents,” Tony whispered. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“I don’t know how to either,” Steve admitted. “My dad was long gone fighting in wars and never returning by the time I was old enough to know that kids were supposed to have two parents. My mother was always working to support us. We will figure this out together, I promise. I will support you with Peter and Harry, don’t you worry about that. We are in this together.”

With that statement, Steve could see the tension visibly leave the mechanic’s shoulders.

“Steve, the boys are going to have huge targets painted on their backs . . . we need to keep this as quiet as possible. Privately they will have our last names, but publicly, we need to have them known as Potter and Parker.”

“Tony, we don’t have to figure all this out now. But as long as we present a united front, I think we can make this work. I agree with the boy’s names, but for right now, I am going to insist on rest. You look like you are going to collapse.”

“I can’t sleep Cap. I close my eyes, I see what is coming from the wormhole. I see Vanko killing you or our boys, I see Stane killing me . . .”

Steve nodded, understanding what Tony was going through. So many changes, so many issues. PTSD sucked, and it appeared that Tony was suffering with it.

“Then let’s watch a movie. I have tons of movies on my need to watch list. What exactly is the Goonies about?”

Tony laughed. The Goonies he could deal with.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony woke early, having fallen asleep on the couch with a super soldier did not do wonders for his back, however despite the discomfort of his back, he felt well rested. Steve had draped a blanket over him, leaving a note saying that he went on a run.

The first thing he did was go to Peter’s room to check on him. Well, it was the second thing, he had to crack his back. Peter was sitting up in his bed looking around the room. Tony smiled a bit, seeing Peter look more alert then the previous day. The magic had taken a lot out of him leaving his immune system shot for a little bit. His fever was down, but not completely gone.

“Hey buddy, are you feeling like a bath or shower?” Tony asked. “The clothes we ordered yesterday came in, they have been washed and put in your drawers. Feel like getting up for a little bit?”

“Yes sir.”

“You don’t have to call me that, Peter. My dad used to make me call him sir, I hated it,” Tony told him. “Felt too military for my taste. Call me Tony, or Dad, or anything other then Sir or Mr. Stark. Do you want to wear one of your science pun t-shirts and a comfy pair of sweat pants?”

“Do I need to dress up for the social worker?” Peter asked while pondering what he was going to call the man. “Ms. Andrea always made me wear nice clothes that she kept in a special closet for the case workers. Skip would get us dressed.”

“Buddy, just be comfortable. You are my son, so I can’t see them taking you from me. After breakfast I need to take you and Harry down to the lab to do our DNA test just so I can get through the legal stuff, but you both look like me. There is no doubt in my mind that you are mine, and even if you weren’t you would be staying with me.”

That was the truth. He would have kept Peter even if there was no genetic relationship. He had pulled footage from the Expo, he had seen himself save the small boy, had seen before everything went to shit where Harry and Peter were both at the coding hands-on area. The boys were incredibly smart, and there was no way Tony was going to let their brilliance get lost in the system. Besides, there was something about his foster home placement that didn’t seem quite right. Peter was seven, able to get dressed on his own . . . there were also other little things that Peter had said that didn’t quite add up.

Tony knew about Harry, Steve had filled him in on their son. And there was going to be a reckoning that the Dursley’s would have no clue was coming, but Peter . . . Tony looked down at the small boy, who eyes were so much like his, a small dimple on his left cheek . . . the system didn’t seem to be too kind to the boy.

“Can I wear the Da Vinci one?” Peter’s voice rang through Tony’s thoughts. 

“Sure bud. Do you need me to adjust the water for you?” It was the same question that he had asked Harry the night before, knowing that is sounded very “dad” like, but he was their dad, and even though he wasn’t ready, he needed to step up, do what was right. Just like Iron Man.

“Dad, I’m seven,” Peter said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Thor, help me. I’m gonna have two teenage boys in the house.”

With any help, they wouldn’t be just like him. The world could only handle 1 Tony Stark. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tony sipped his coffee, relishing the taste of the bitter liquid. He watched as Harry made his way into the kitchen, immediately starting to cut up the fruit on the counter.

“You know Harry, you don’t have to do that anymore,” Tony said, sidling up to his son. He reached over and grabbed the knife, slicing some strawberries for the four of them. 

“Ungrateful brats know their place,” Harry muttered. 

Tony hummed, putting the knife down. “I don’t see any ungrateful brats. I see a kid who has gotten dealt a pretty crappy hand. I’m sorry. I blame myself for not checking on you. I blame myself for not knowing about Peter. I was an ungrateful brat . . . trust me you are not one.”

Tony looked up, seeing Steve enter the kitchen with Peter. Peter was perched on Steve’s hip, his curls were completely unruly. 

“How about we send Pops out for some pastries today? Then you boys can tell JARVIS what you want to put on our grocery list so we have some food for you gremlins to eat. Seraphina is coming today to do the inheritance spell so we can properly register you boys with MACUSA. I also need to do DNA test on both you boys so I can claim you legally with the lawyers.”

“I can do that. I saw a little bakery that wasn’t destroyed,” Steve nodded. “I will also get you some coffee that doesn’t taste like tar.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Tony exclaimed. 

Peter and Harry laughed, and for the first time, the penthouse started to feel like home.

Tony led the boys down to the lab, introducing the boys to Bruce. Bruce had wanted to leave New York, but had stayed on Tony’s instance, but tended to keep a quiet distance for the most part wanting to work on his research quietly. Tony could understand that for the most part. He had handled Vanko anyway with Rhodey and the Hulk wasn’t needed to help with the search and recovery efforts.

“So these are the boys,” Bruce said quietly. “They look like you in different ways. I hope they are better patients then you are.”

Both boys quietly snickered behind their dad. “Sure, poke fun at me,” Tony groused with a smile on his face. “Well, I have two awesome boys, and I need to make them legally mine. You know how SI is with paperwork.”

Bruce nodded, picking up Peter. Bruce noted the similarities between father and son, knowing that this test was going to show up positive.

“Do you know who your mom is?” Bruce asked. 

“She died when I was little. I know she had brown hair,” Peter said. “It smelled like vanilla.”

“Lily’s hair smelled like strawberries. Her hair was red,” Harry piped up. “I know she wasn’t my real mum, but she loved me.”

Bruce was good at distracting the boys as he drew their blood. Tony could understand why he enjoyed being in India and hadn’t wanted to leave.

“JARVIS is running the results now,” Bruce informed them. 

“Can you boys go upstairs and see if Pops is back with your breakfast and my coffee. I don’t want to turn into a zombie,” Tony said, mimicking a Zombie causing the boys to scramble toward the elevator. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Once the boys were together in the elevator, Tony sighed. “JARVIS let me know if they get into any trouble. Is Steve back?”

“Captain Rogers has indeed been back. He is setting up breakfast for you and the boys.”

Tony turned toward Bruce. “Want to join us?”

“I ate some bacon earlier. So, how are you doing really?”

“Honestly, terrified. More scared then when I had the nuke on my back. When I was carrying Harry, I was completely detached, drugged up. Howard didn’t want me getting attached . . .” Tony gulped down his coffee. Steve was right, tar would be the correct adjective to describe it. “Then he was born. Harry didn’t cry much, unless Howard was near. I guess kids can detect evil. Now, I have a second one thrown into the mix. There is no way that Peter isn’t mine. From the curly hair, the shared eyes, and well, the magic confirming it . . . I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.”

“I think every parent freaks out,” Bruce stated, looking at the DNA reader. “You are the father, in case you didn’t know. I’ll have a full blown report written for your lawyers. What time is the social worker coming?”

“10:00.”

“Geez, give a man a little warning next time . . .” Bruce complained over Tony’s chuckling while walking over to his computer. 

“Sure you don’t want to join us for breakfast?”

“Unlike some of us, I have work to do, I don’t have time for a second breakfast.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have had questions about pairings. I don't mind slash, Stony, or Pepper/Tony with Steve co-parenting. What do you guys want? Coming up is social work. Chances are Peter will end up back in the group home for a short time. I just don't see the social worker just leaving Peter there until everything was filed correctly, thoughts?


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding, fluff, reality.

Chapter Twelve:

Tony could tell by looking at Ms. Anna Whitely that she wasn’t a woman that was easily charmed or impressed. She had walked into the penthouse, pens stuck expertly in her too tight bun, with an air of don’t mess with me.

He was suitably impressed, and took it as a challenge.  
“Mr. Stark, you should know that we just don’t hand children to strangers . . .”  
“I’m not a stranger, I’m his biological father, and surely that has to count for something,” Tony reiterated for what felt to be the millionth time. 

“Yes, and that does count, but we do take into account several other factors Mr. Stark. We take into account that Peter essentially doesn’t know you, and we are grateful that you want to be part of his life, but reunification of parents and children can take some time. We take into account financial stability, which I am sure won’t be a problem and conduct several background checks. The State of New York takes the safety of our wards very seriously,” she countered back.

“Can I file for temporary, emergency custody?”  
“He already had been placed in a loving foster home. He has been in the system now for two years . . . and is soon to be eligible for adoption . . .”

“Not happening, he’s my son. I want to raise him, and even though we don’t know each other, we can get to know each other. I have to have some kind of paternal rights, right? He has a half-brother, they are about the same age. They get along so well. I can provide a safe and nurturing environment, if needed I can buy a whole neighborhood outside the city if the penthouse isn’t up to par. Just don’t take him away,” Tony finished in a whisper.

Ms. Whitely smiled at Tony. “The plan is for reunification, first and foremost. We just have to do it the right way. I will expedite the process as fast as I can, and set it up so you can have Peter for three hours every day and a couple of overnight visits until we get everything in order. I also have to bring you up to speed on Peter Parker.”

Tony nodded, not liking the situation, but it sounded like the system was going to allow him to get Peter eventually. 

“I have Peter’s file and history for you to look over. And I can get started on your home study. I’m not even worried about doing financials, given you are who you are. So, why don’t you show me Peter’s room? You mentioned another child, are they going to be sharing?”

Tony stood, leading the way to Peter’s room, explaining the damage to the tower in the battle and the renovations to take place on the floors that would be the living quarters.  
“JARVIS, pull up schematics for the overhaul of the penthouse . . .”  
Tony pointed out the room designs for Peter, focusing on Peter’s favorite colors.  
He worried that being Iron Man would cause them to take Peter and voiced his concerns. To which she replied that even though the job was unusual and high risk, it wouldn’t hurt, stating that being Iron Man would be a lot like being a police officer or fireman.

Tony nodded, his fears settling for a minute.  
“Mr. Stark, for what it is worth, I am on your side. I left Peter’s information, his story on the table for you to look over. I will be by to take him back to Andrea’s tonight, but you can pick him up tomorrow afternoon for dinner. We are going to make this a smooth transition, and I hope that he can be settled by the end of the week.

“I have also set up a visitation schedule so you can see Peter, there are some that are supervised so we can make sure that this is something that is going to work. Sometimes reunifications aren’t in the best interest of the child. Where is Peter now? I would like to check on him.”

Tony nodded though he didn’t like the idea of being separated from his kid. Yeah, he had given Harry up for his own protection, but it was the best decision he could make at the time. And sure, he knew he wasn’t fatherly or anything like that, but he knew that he would try his best to cobble together a family for the boys.

“So I can’t just keep him even though I am his father, and I want him?”

She shook her head again. “I want to keep everything on the up and up, especially now. But really Mr. Stark, I feel that reunification is going to work out, we just need to go through all the appropriate channels.”

He lead them through the room to where the boys were playing with Legos on the ground, Peter was explaining to Harry what Star Wars was, Steve listening with rapt attention. Tony snickered slightly knowing that Steve was still catching up on his pop culture. The boys would help him ease into the 21st century quicker.

“So, movie night tonight?” Harry asked, looking up at Tony and Steve. 

“Sorry buddy, but Peter is going to have to go back to Ms. Andrea’s tonight,” Tony told the boys softly. Harry’s face crumpled, and Peter was putting on a brave face. This was not the outcome that either boy, nor him or Steve wanted. “We are working on getting Peter here . . .”

“But he’s my brother you are our dad . . .” Harry started to panic slightly, Peter’s breathing started to pick up. Peter started reaching for his inhaler, taking a couple of puffs to help with his anxiety that was building. “Why can’t Peter stay forever?”

“Do you not want me?” Peter asked in a small voice.

“No Peter, it’s not that,” Steve said quickly, rubbing Peter on the back.

“It took a couple of weeks for use to get custody of Harry,” Tony said, still needing to figure out what the custody agreement would be with him and Steve, bending the truth to work with the statue of secrecy. “It is going to take a couple of weeks for Petey too.” He scooped both boys in his arms, holding them close. “We can do a movie afternoon before Ms. Whitely comes and takes Peter for the night though. And then tomorrow we can pick him up for dinner. We have a schedule to follow, and then Peter can come home for good. We have to follow the rules and the law.”

“You mean it Daddy?” Peter asked in small voice.

“Yes kiddo, I am your dad, I want you and Harry always.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tony was drained and disappointed. Peter and Harry stuck to his side all day, which was fine with him, but when it came time for Peter to go back for the night, it felt as if his arc reactor was being ripped out of his chest.

Again.

He had strapped his watch on to Peter, telling him to push the panic button if anything at all happened to him, be cautioned him to only use it in an emergency. Tony didn’t want anything jeopardizing custody or anything like that. 

He sighed, walking into the penthouse, Steve still holding Harry in his arms. Harry’s eyes were red rimmed.

“Dad . . .” Harry whispered running up to Tony.

“Peter is fine. I dropped him off and we will see him tomorrow. We have to follow the rules on this buddy, we have no choice. I have the best lawyers working on it as well. Peter will come home soon,” He whispered the reassuring words to all those in the room.

“I don’t think Peter likes it at Ms. Andrea’s. Peter said the Skip, the older boy, is creepy and always looking at him and is really mean to him,” Harry confided in his dad. “I promised I would do everything I could do to protect him, I am his brother.”

He looked at the clock, “I can’t do anything, the great Tony Stark’s hands are tied right now, but I will do everything I can to make sure your brother is safe. And as one of your dads, I am telling you that it is time for you to get to bed. I thought Pop would have put you to bed . . .”

“He tried. I couldn’t stay asleep,” Harry admitted. 

“It’s alright bud. I gave Peter something to let us know if he was in trouble, and in between a body guard staying across the street and me being Iron Man, well Peter will be okay until he comes home for good. I have covered the bases as much as I could with short notice. I know that this isn’t what we wanted, but sometimes we have to play by the rules to get what we want, okay kiddo.”

“Okay Dad. We will see Peter tomorrow for our supervised play date. Maybe he can finish helping me build the Lego set. We are talking about making a motor so we can have an R2D2 of our very own, whatever that is . . .”

“Star Wars robot,” Steve supplied. “I watched that one when I first came out of the ice.”

“Came out of the ice?” Harry looked at his Pops’ confused. 

“Why doesn’t Pop fill you in with a bedtime story? I have some homework to do, and then I will head to bed myself.”

Steve nodded, taking Harry from Tony’s side just after Tony dropped a kiss on the boys head. “I’ll see you in the morning kiddo. I will order breakfast to have it delivered around 8.” Tony told them, mostly so Harry would know that he didn’t need to be in the kitchen again. It was the second morning straight that Tony found him there, and it just didn’t sit right with him, a kid, his kid, making breakfast for everyone.

Steve caught Tony’s gaze as he carried Harry out of the room. They would be talking soon. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tony held put the coffee down as he perused through Peter’s CPS file. The first picture thing he noticed was a picture, one taken when Peter was six years old. His eyes held a wariness to them, his hoodie was stained with blood. The kid looked like death wormed over. 

His adoptive parents had been dead since being killed in a plane accident when he was four, and Peter had been living with Ben and May Parker since. Apparently there was a home invasion robbery, leaving the nurse and accountant dead. The police had found Peter between the two bodies, he was attempting CPR on his uncle. 

“Christ,” he whispered. 

Peter had been born to a woman named Maya Hansen. Shit. He remembered her. A fun, spunky, undergrad. She wanted to change the world, was working with plants and applying to grad school. They had met at a conference in the early 2000s. The same one Yinsen was at. Tony remembered his father dragging him to that boring conference. Maya was the only one around his age there. 

Happy had told him to wear a condom.

Maya had given birth to Peter on August 10th, officially making Harry the eldest of the two by just a smidge. Tony had wondered who was the oldest between the two of them. 

Pepper had been called away on SI business, he needed to talk with her, tell her of the developments. He hadn’t seen her since bringing Peter home since she had to deal with the clean up and restarting of the expo. Happy and Rhodey needed to be brought up to speed as well.

Checklist started forming in his head, security measures that needed to be dealt with to make sure the boys identities stayed confidential.

This was a big freaking mess.

God, what was he going to do? He scrubbed his had over his face, trying to focus on the rest of the CPS report, Peter had been through many different homes, none of them quite able to take care of the budding genius.

Peter needed to come home soon. 

Steve sat next to him, entering the room quietly.

“I think he will stay asleep this time. He never slept well when I had him in the hotel. He sleeps really lightly, years of conditioning.”

“He should have never had years of conditioning, Peter should have never had to return to the fucking foster home. His face when I had to drive him back to the damn place, it’s going to be seared into my brain forever,” Tony countered back almost venomously, throwing a wrench he was holding across the lab. Steve knew though that he wasn’t the person at the receiving end of the anger, it was the situation all together. “The pain in your chest, is that what you felt when I told you to leave Harry alone?”

Steve hummed in response. “I think it is parent magic. I think all parents have a special bond with their child. What you are feeling right now is normal Tony. I know what you are feeling. The bruises on Harry’s neck will forever be seared into my brain too. The lightness of Peter as I carried him through the Expo to get to the shield . . . these boys have been through hell and back. And so have we. We need to heal as a family.” Tony nodded, tapping at his arc reactor, hoping that he would ease the pain some.

What Steve said made a lot of sense. And actually was not uncommon in the magical world. Either Harry was magically powerful (which Tony reasoned he must be to withstand the killing curse . . . still something he needed to check into), or Steve had some ambient magic in him as well (which was probably something that helped him withstand the super soldier serum). 

“I need to know, you won’t take Harry away, will you?” Tony asked. He had been wanting to know the answer for the last several days, but had always been too chicken to ask. The irony of Iron Man being scared of something.

“Never Tony. God, no. We have joint custody, it’s the way the lawyers suggested we draw it up. We need to figure out legal guardians, I was figuring Rhodey or Pepper, but wanted to ask you about that. It was never my intention to keep him from you. Joint custody seemed the way to go in the first, and then if you had responded poorly, I would have filed for full custody. I couldn’t leave him there, I wouldn’t. And I won’t leave Peter in foster care. How long did Anna say it would be?”

“Too long,” Tony muttered. “At worst two weeks, at best 1 week. The lawyers are working on it.”

The frustration of the past several days started building up . . . and Tony started to hyperventilate. Rhodey and him fighting . . . Vanko . . . Wormhole . . . Protect the kids . . . Peter . . . Harry . . . Palladium poisoning. 

It was all too much.

Tony felt himself start to cry.

“I did the best I could . . .”

Steve walked over to Tony, not really knowing what to do. Tony had been through more then all of them in the past 3 months. The man was trying his best to hold it all together, but it eventually it would all fall apart. 

“It’s okay Tones,” Steve murmured. “We know, and you are the best of all of us. You don’t have to carry this all on your own.”

Tony hadn’t let out any emotions since the day he found out he was pregnant with Harry, for 8 years he carried on, putting all of his emotions in a little room in his brain, shutting the door to soldier on.

Steve knelt down, placing his arms around Tony. He was worried that he would trigger a bad reaction, that the abuse the Howard had forced on him would cause further trauma (at least that is what a psychology book on rape victims had suggested), but it had the opposite effect. Tony was touch starved almost, just like the two boys.

Steve felt his heart shatter for the man in his arms. He could and would help carry the burden and put this family back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews and kudos feed my soul. Sorry it has been a little bit. I volunteer in the summers directing a swim team and the meets take a lot of time organizing. I am hoping to crank out a chapter every week. Far From Home was awesome, not the direction I thought it would take though.


End file.
